


The Bomb Inside Me

by kancerkiller_jayy



Category: Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Internalized Homophobia, Novelization, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Sexual Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Toko’s been through a lot, Udg spoilers, a much gayer retelling of the game because we are not cowards in this house, and komaru gets the brunt of it all, it will get better, so have the warriors of hope, strap in for a lot of trauma, this is danganronpa so prepare for pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-25 15:09:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30091005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kancerkiller_jayy/pseuds/kancerkiller_jayy
Summary: Toko Fukawa has survived a killing game before. Her whole life has just been surviving one killing game to the next. When she’s thrown into Towa City, she finds herself in another. That she can handle. Babysitting the sister of the Ultimate Hope through a booby-trapped city designed entirely to kill them? Also not a problem. Toko knows how to survive. It’s the one thing she’s good at, after all. What she’s not ready for...is the constant bombardment of feelings and emotions this girl forces out of her on a regular basis. If Toko doesn’t get herself under control, it won’t be the Monokumas that gets the two of them killed.Komaru Naegi has been locked away in total isolation for over a year. Always on the edge of despair, Komaru constantly battles to keep her hope strong. With herself, with the enemies thrown in front of her, with fate itself. She knows she has to stay strong in order to survive, and she’s always been able to depend on the kindness of others. However, once she finds herself trapped in Towa City, Komaru finds everything she’s ever known about the world thrown into question. Will those ideals keep her strong in this killing game...or will she just end up getting herself and her new companion killed?
Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, Genocider Syo | Genocide Jack/Naegi Komaru, Toko Fukawa/Komaru Naegi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	1. Toko

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort of novelization of Ultra Despair Girls game, basically everything is the same except some details are more fleshed out and we have more time for the girls to bond. Everything will be romantically charged later on, just so we’re clear. This is a Tokomaru story. They will be gf’s by the end of it. They’ve just got a lot of pain and opening up to do first...

Six students stood before a door.

Six, once part of a class of fifteen—no, sixteen other students.

They were all that remained.

Murder....betrayal...suicide...execution....call it what you want. They were all just pretty words describing the same horrible, awful thing.

_Slaughter._

Ten classmates, and one naive headmaster. All slaughtered for the sake of one twisted girl’s entertainment, if you could even call it that.

_A psychotic woman with a hard-on for pointless killing....remind you of anyone?_

Toko Fukawa felt her stomach turn.

_Monster..._

The others were talking. Toko couldn’t find it in her to pay that much attention. A gnawing pain buzzed in her head, her chest growing heavy as she felt her muscles tighten.

Guilt. Shame. Disgust. Toko hated those feelings. But like the murderous beast caged in her mind, she could never seem to escape them.

_You’ve killed just as many people as that big-boobed blonde bimbo, if not more. You’re a killer, just like her. A monster._

_So why do **YOU** get to leave this hellhole?_

Toko glanced timidly at the four students standing beside her. The idiot bimbo Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimmer. The occult moron Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant. Her beloved and marvelous Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. The frightening Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective. And the naive fool Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student.

 _That’s right...we’re calling him the Ultimate Hope now apparently._ Toko fought the urge to roll her eyes. _Only a love-struck sap would put an unconditionally trusting child like him on a pedestal. Honestly, Kirigiri could NOT be more obvious..._

“I can’t say I’m sorry about what happened, but still...” Toko’s gaze fell on the stone-faced girl standing next to her. “It does feel kind of strange...”

Makoto suddenly let out a sigh. “I...really don’t know what to say.” Toko watched Kyoko and Makoto exchange a soft look. Makoto broke into a goofy smile. “I guess we...graduated?”

The pensive young woman let out a single laugh in response. It wasn’t much, but to anyone who had spent more than a day with Kyoko Kirigiri, getting her to emote anything was a noteworthy accomplishment.

 _If you had asked me a few weeks ago what it would take to chip away at that woman’s stone mask, never in a million years would I have said the boy with the idiot personality of a children’s show protagonist,_ Toko scoffed silently. _How predictable. A ten year old could’ve written a better love story..._

As the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, Toko Fukawa was no stranger to love. She had written several critically-acclaimed romance novels. And as such, there were certain undeniable truths Toko was aware of.

The kind of doe-eyed, sugar-filled, puppy-love that Kyoko was hoping for...doesn’t exist. The world isn’t a romantic fairy tale full of soft and fluffy moments. It’s full of pain, and greed, and death, and—

 _Monsters. Unforgivable and unloveable...monsters._ Toko’s gray gaze fell to her shaky hands. _Like me._ Once again that deafening buzzing was back, her lungs felt like they were being squeezed.

_Why am I here? Why....of all the others, why did it have to be me who made it to the end? The killer. The pathetic, disgusting, scum hiding a serial killer inside of her..._

Fate had a really cruel way of never letting her suffering end.

As the alarm sirens blared and the lights began flashing, signaling the escape button had been pushed, Toko filed away the guilt threatening to strangle her for later.

_There’s no time for that bullshit right now. Just shut up and do the one thing you’re good at, Fukawa._

“Survive,” she mumbled out loud, her voice drowned out by the thunderous shakes of the room and the alarms continuing to screech.

The door began to open. Hope and despair mingled together...opening the door to the future.

*****

Toko’s eyes snapped open. Hope’s Peak Academy was gone. The noise and the shaking however, remained.

“Sir we’ve been hit with a projectile!”

“Taking emergency action to land in the street!”

“Brace for impact!”

Toko barely had time to come to her senses before the helicopter she was in began spiraling toward the ground. The handful of armed men and women with her barked out countless panicked orders over the ear-splitting noise of the helicopter’s alarms.

 _I zoned out on the ride from headquarters!_ Toko hissed at herself. _Idiot! Useless idiot, no wonder the Foundation doesn’t want to make you a member. Sleeping on the job?!_

The helicopter clumsily thudded to the ground, tumbling over and sending all of the passengers inside rolling. Toko was thrown from her hiding place under the back seats on the floor into the pile of groaning bodies. Metal screeched along the asphalt, and the compromised helicopter finally came to a stop on its side.

“Status report!” Toko’s heart skipped a beat at the familiar sound of Byakuya Togami’s sharp voice. She watched the young man untangle himself from the collective mass of people on the helicopter floor and brush himself off.

“P-pilot unconscious but stable! Chopper compromised!” Another Foundation member sounded off a response. Toko couldn’t see which one. She scrambled out from under a ridiculously large suited man and bumped into a megaphone on the floor.

 ** _“Fukawa!”_ **Toko yelped out loud at the enraged sound of Byakuya as he approached. He picked up the megaphone and glared down at her with his piercing blue eyes. “What in god’s name are you doing here?!”

Toko trembled as she got to her feet, nervously fiddling with her black hair. “M-Master! I’m s-so sorry, I-I know I’m not s-supposed to be here...b-but I—“

“This is a highly classified mission for the members of the 14th branch of the Future Foundation,” the well-kept blonde practically snarled. “You haven’t even been _accepted_ into the Foundation, let alone assigned onto a branch as critically vital as this one. I could have you executed as a spy!”

“W-wait!” Toko stumbled back in a panic, only to be forcefully grabbed by two other members.

Byakuya rubbed his face under his glasses, clearly aggravated. “Your stupidity astonishes me. Did you really think you could just sneak on board and then join our force? Such idiotic entitlement.”

Each word stung like venom. Toko stared pathetically up at him as the two grunts behind her prepped a pair of handcuffs. “I-I just wanted to h-help you!”

“‘Help’?” He turned to pry the helicopter door open with a scoff. “Why on earth do you think I would _ever_ need assistance from plebeian filth like you?”

“S-something’s not right! I t-told you before about...m-my feelings that I get about this s-sort of thing,” Toko spluttered out quickly. “T-this mission...you can’t do it! I-if you do then—“

“Enough,” Byakuya interrupted sharply. “I’m tired of listening to your babbling nonsense. I’ve stuck my neck out for you Fukawa, more times than I should have. But this, this is too far. You’ve broken every protocol and the Foundation will have you punished for this.” The door slid open and he climbed out to the edge.

Toko’s eyes widened fearfully. Panic seized her chest as he vanished from her view. “M-Master, wait! Y-you can’t—“

“Someone get on comms and call for a squad to detain Fukawa!” Byayuka and several members followed him out of the wrecked chopper. Toko’s fear only rose as his voice grew more distant. “I want her back at HQ within the hour!”

The two remaining men in suits wrestled with Toko’s arms, trying to snap the handcuffs around her wrists. “Damn stubborn girl...” One of them hissed. “Keep still already, will ya?”

“N-no!” Toko shouted, writhing and squirming as much as she could. “I m-must go w-with Master!” She desperately tried to weasel out of their grip. “Let m-me go!”

The other man let out a cruel growl. “Screw this..” With one harsh blow to the gut, Toko keeled over in pain. Her lungs burned as they struggled to find air as she slumped to the ground. There was a faint click as the handcuffs finally snapped onto her wrists.

“Geez this brat’s more trouble than she’s worth. Togami’s a fool, wasting his time with this science fair project of his.”

“I don’t know why he bothers honestly. She’s a walking time bomb. A loose cannon ball. One day she’ll blow up in his damn face.”

Toko winced, tears stinging in her eyes at the pain in her chest. Suddenly the burning in her lungs didn’t feel like anything.

_They’re right. They’re all right. You’re a burden. You’re dangerous. You’re useless. You’re—_

“My my, is that really how the Foundation treats their fellow allies?” An airy voice suddenly sounded from outside the helicopter. Toko looked up to see a strange young man with wild white hair crouched down on the open door. He stared down at the three with a calm, eerie smile. “Careful gentlemen, keep talking like that and everyone will start defecting before you know it.”

The two members instantly drew their guns. The Stranger dropped down into the helicopter, his calm demeanor not seeming to change at all in response to the weapons pointed at his head. “Oh dear,” he said with an almost sad sigh. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

The two men stared at the stranger in confusion. “What do you me—“

Toko heard glass shatter behind them and turned to see three bears—no, _Monokumas—_ charge through the helicopters crushed windshield. They swarmed the two guards, teeth gnashing, claws tearing....the two men barely had time to scream before their throats were ripped out.

Their bodies hit ground only inches from Toko, the bears still ravaging the lifeless corpses. A scream of horror tore out of the girl, and she scrambled along the floor away from the dead men in a panic. The blood, the smell of death...Toko felt lightheaded.

“So sorry about that...” Toko jumped as the Stranger spoke again. She shakily got to her feet, chest heaving as she tugged on the handcuffs locking her hands behind her.

 _Shit_.

“What a mess,” the man said as he approached the bodies. “Such a shame too. No one had to die today. Just my luck, I suppose...”

Toko was frozen, watching this man begin to search over the corpses. He paid no mind to the snarling bears tearing through the bodies. “W-who are y-you?”

“Who me? I’m nobody,” he replied as if they were just having a friendly discussion over tea. The man suddenly stood up, a small key in hand. “Just a friendly stranger.”

His smile sent all kind of alarm bells off in Toko’s head. Everything about him, his calm persona, his raggedy clothes and wild hair, the single winter glove on his left hand, the chain around his neck....every sense and instinct inside of Toko screamed danger as she looked over him. He was like a predator playing with his food. Confident, in total control.

The Stranger suddenly approached her, his smile never faltering. “You’re Toko Fukawa?”

Toko backed up against the side of the helicopter. “Y-yeah?”

His smile seemed to widen. “The Ultimate Writing Prodigy and Murderer, all wrapped up together into one being like a present with a little bow! I am most honored to be in your glorious presence.” Toko saw something in his eyes turn dark. “Every part of you just positively glows with hope. How wonderful...”

More and more alarm bells began piling up around this stranger. Toko swallowed hard. “W-what do you want w-with me?”

“I want to give you everything you want,” the Stranger said in response. “Freedom, respect, a place on the Foundation, and of course...your Master Byakuya.”

Toko felt something in her sink. “W-what did you do to M-Master?”

“I’m afraid the children took him prisoner,” he replied.

“Children..?”

The Stranger chuckled. “You’ll figure it out soon enough. A high-class Ultimate such as yourself should have no trouble putting all the pieces together. Don’t worry, he won’t be harmed,” the man added quickly. “Your Master is much more valuable to them alive than not.”

Toko was suddenly aware of herself trembling. However, it wasn’t fear burning in her gut at the Stranger’s words. It was anger. “D-don’t talk like y-you’re not a part of this! A-and stop talking in s-stupid riddles! Just tell me w-what you want already,” she snapped at him.

“My, to be scolded so harshly by someone so full of talent and hope,” the Stranger mused. “Your love for Master Byakuya must be stronger than the coldest steel.” The way Toko’s gut flinched at the word ‘love’ made her fall silent. The young man ran a hand through his frayed white hair and sighed. “A common bystander like me getting cut by the sharp blade of a protective lover....I’m so honored. Truly, I am not worthy to be touched by such raw hope.”

“K-keep talking and I’ll s-show you just h-how sharp those blades are,” Toko hissed through her grit teeth. The metal of her cuffs clinked as she strained against them. _Damn those stupid Foundation bastards..._

“Ah well, we can’t have that.” Toko watched as the Stranger suddenly crouched to the floor to pick up something. Her eyes widened in panic as she recognized the stun gun she brought with her.

The three bears behind them suddenly lurched at full attention. Their heads snapped towards the strange man as he looked over the stun gun in his hands.

“You see, these Monokumas are programmed to attack anything they deem a threat to me.” He let out a small laugh. “My _own_ incredibly generous and talented Master wanted to be sure I carried out this mission without a scratch. She wants me alive, you see. I’m so lucky to be a part of her glorious plan...”

Toko watched the three mechanical bears let out a robotic laugh. It was vastly different than the bear’s voice from her nightmares, the Monokuma who held her prisoner for weeks in that damn hellhole of a school. Poorly replicated. But sound still chilled her to the bone.

“You’re part of her plan as well, you know.” Toko’s eyes snapped back to the young man walking towards her. “She wants to propose a deal with you. I am merely the lowly messenger.”

“W-what deal?”

The Stranger held up the small key. Toko suddenly registered it as the key to her handcuffs. “May I?” With a nervous glance at the bears watching her every move, she turned around. He unlocked the cuffs and tossed them to the ground beside her. “There’s a girl in this city. Komaru Naegi. Find her and escort her to the children’s headquarters. Do that, and your Master Byakuya goes free.”

Toko whirled around, clutching at her wrists. “N-Naegi?! Y-you don’t mean—“

“Makoto Naegi’s sister,” he said as he discarded the key. “Your former classmate. I believe the Foundation is referring to him as..the Ultimate Hope?”

“W-what do you want with h-him?” Toko asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Stranger shook his head. “Nothing at all. Their only wish is to find the girl, his sister.”

Toko bit into her fingernail, emotions swarming around in her mind as she processed everything this weird man was asking of her.

“What a-are you going to d-do to her, the Naegi girl?” She asked in a choked voice.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” the Stranger answered with a smile. “All that matters is that your Master Byakuya will go free. That’s what is most important to you, right? Saving the one you love?”

Toko felt her stomach churn. _He wants you to betray that naive idiot. Typical hostage exchange. An eye for an eye. How annoying..._

“S-so...I just have to f-find this girl and bring her to you?”

He nods and offers the stun gun to her. “A very simple request. A survivor of the Hope’s Peak killing game should have no trouble at all managing to pull it off. Compared to everything you’ve been through, this game should be mere child’s play.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “W-where do I find her?”

As Toko took the gun from his hands, the Stranger stepped back. A twisted smile formed on his lips. “If I told you that, then the game wouldn’t begin.”

The three Monokumas suddenly let out a snarl and charged at the now very _armed_ Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Toko let out a panicked scream and pressed the stun gun to her temple.

The Stranger jumped from the helicopter’s shattered windshield, looking back to see a flash of electricity and hearing a cackle of crazed laughter.

“Good luck to you, Toko Fukawa,” he said with a light hum. “I can’t wait to watch that hope in you burn like a radiant sun. Show me, Ultimate Writing Prodigy, show me the power of your love. Prove to me that this is the strongest form of hope there is!” His gaze moved to the towering building at the center of the city with a grin. “To survive this game, you’re going to need it.”


	2. Komaru

_According to what I’ve heard, the world is round. But...is that really true? Earth might have the shape of rock candy, like that spiky lump of sugar your grandma would wrap in a tissue. But, I don’t really know for sure. It’s not like I’ve actually seen the shape of the earth. In the same way, I’ve never seen most things that are considered common knowledge. Common knowledge and what we take for granted. We base our lives around such uncertain things..._

The sound of an alarm clock drags her back to groggy consciousness. Springs inside of an old mattress creak as a seventeen year old girl rises to shut off the bothersome device.

_Well, not that it matters for me. I mean, my world isn’t even big enough to worry about stuff like the shape of the earth or common knowledge. In fact, it’s pretty small. So small that it’s actually a little funny..._

The girl rubbed her tired eyes and sat on the edge of her bed, stomach sinking once again as she took in the familiar sight of the stale room before her.

_This is my world. This two-bedroom apartment that I live in...is my world._

A defeated sigh slipped out before she forced herself to move. “Nope, still alone.”

 _My life doesn’t extend beyond these walls,_ the girl reminded herself as she droned through her morning routine. Shower, clothes, teeth. The same every morning.

By the time she was finished, her stomach was growling. The same.

She moved into the living room, her chest tightening at the sight of the thick steel bars outside the apartment’s ceiling-to-floor window.

_But, it’s not like I’m a shut-in or anything. I’m actually...imprisoned, inside this room._

Her feet moved her to the window, and she stared out helplessly through the bars. The sun was out, but it was still too smoggy to see anything other than a faint outline of a cityscape. The same as always.

_My name is Komaru Naegi. I’m a completely normal high school girl...who lives an abnormal daily life._

The second she finishes the energy bar left in the basket of her tiny kitchen, Komaru gets to work.

Glaring at the front door of the apartment, she stretches her arms and legs, readying herself.

“Alright,” she says to herself in a determined voice. With a deep breath, Komaru charged at the door.

Her body slams into the solid metal, thumping loudly but not budging against the frame. She lets out a growl of frustration and starts pounding her fists and shoulder against the exit.

“LET! ME! OUT! Let me _out_ of here!” Komaru barks and yells at the unmoving door, to whoever might be listening. “HEY! Sheesh, I know you can hear me,” she snarled as she twists and pulls at the locked doorknob.

_Ever since my imprisoned life began, this pointless defiance became my routine._

Komaru continued to yank and shove at the door, beating it with her fists till her hands were sore and her voice was raw from the screams.

_But it was only in the beginning that I was seriously crying and yelling._

With one last furious growl, she kicked the door in frustration and turned away.

_It’s been a year and a half since my imprisoned life began. Can you believe it? A year and a half!_

Tired and defeated, Komaru grabbed a hand towel and collapsed down on the sofa. She let out an anguished sigh as she wiped the sweat and tears off her face. The same.

_...so long that I’ve become completely used to this life. It’s frightening how well humans can adapt. I’ve learned that first-hand from this imprisonment._

She eyes the teen magazine on the table in front of her, the one she’s read over so many times. “Something to pass the time again I guess,” she mumbles to herself before flipping through the pages once more.

_But it’s not like I’ve completely given up, of course. If I had, then I wouldn’t do things like change my uniform every morning._

Komaru felt herself starting to doze off as she continued to read over the magazine she practically had memorized at this point.

_I just...don’t want to get my hope’s up too much. Because through this imprisonment, I’ve learned so much about the horrifying despair that always follows hope._

Her gaze fell on a stock photo of some high school girls happily chatting in a classroom. Sorrow and pain squeezed her heart, and she couldn’t fight the longing tears starting to form in her eyes.

The doorbell suddenly sounded, and Komaru’s head whipped back towards the front door. Instantly that pain turned back to anger.

“Geez, it’s finally breakfast?!” She shouts in annoyance, hoping whoever was behind that door could hear how strong she still sounded. “It’s about time, I’m starving in here!”

_But anyway, about the reason behind this whole imprisonment...unfortunately even I, the victim, have no clue whatsoever._

Komaru continued to grumble to herself as she stomped over to the mail slot beside the exit. It creaked open and a tray of food was slid through. Eggs, bacon, coffee, toast. The same.

She snatched the tray from the slot and kicked at the wall. “Again with this stupid diner food...” Komaru placed the tray onto the table before retrieving a water bottle from the fridge. “Would it _kill_ you to have a little variety for once?!” She yelled at no one.

Her bitter mumbling continued until she sat at the small dining table. The plates, the forks, the knives....everything was fake. Disposable. Plastic. Heck, even the food tasted like it was made from some cheap ready-made packets. But Komaru forced it down anyways. They didn’t have to feed her, and she wasn’t sure when her captor would decide to finally stop.

She stopped praying a long time ago. Thanking whoever might be up there watching seemed pointless. There was no higher being that was going to rescue her. Hoping for miracles like that was dangerous.

So...she ate her fake food, with her fake silverware, in her fake home. Like someone’s pet hamster. _Trapped_.

_Ever since I was taken by those strange people into this strange place, receiving meals was the only communication I had with the outside. I haven’t seen the culprit’s face, or even heard their voice. I still don’t even know why I’m imprisoned here in the first place._

Food finished, she started sipping on the bitter coffee. No sugar, and very watered-down. It had taken Komaru months to finally get used to the slimy taste. She found that imagining herself at her favorite restaurant with her friends and family tended to help, despite the sting of reality hitting her once she was finished pretending.

_Regardless of how abnormal and unfair this situation is, this is my world and daily life now. So it can’t be helped._

Komaru watched the ripples of the coffee in her styrofoam cup and let out a soft sigh under her breath.

_See? Sucks, right? My story ended before it even began. It’s not like I still have hope that something sudden will happen after all this time an—_

**RATTLE, RATTLE.**

Komaru felt every muscle in her body freeze.

**RATTLE, RATTLE.**

The teenager looked back at the front door in alarm. There was a moment of silence, so brief that Komaru started to think she had gone crazy and just imagined the sound. And then...

**RATTLE, RATTLE, THOMP!**

Someone was at the door. Trying to get in.

“Could it be...?” Komaru’s defenses shattered in an instant. She sprang up from the table, knocking over her chair and dropping the cup to the ground. Coffee splattered all over the ground. “Did someone come to rescue me?!”

She was at the door in an instant, throwing herself and pounding her fists in desperation. Her heart raced, blood roared in her ears as she started to scream.

“PLEASE, save me! I’m trapped in here! I’m begging you, please save me!!” A year and a half’s worth of emotions started to flow out of her. Tears streamed down her face as she continued to bang and scream against the door. The fear, the pain, the loneliness, the despair...all swelling in her chest and bubbling to the surface in choked sobs.

“I don’t want to live this life anymore,” she cried helplessly against the cold metal. _**“PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!!”**_

The response to her final scream was three blades piercing through the metal slab in front of her. They stopped a mere millimeter from her eyes. All the air in Komaru’s lungs left her body in one sharp gasp. The blades retracted a bit, only to tear right through the door like a knife in butter.

 _Not blades...claws,_ Komaru realized with wide, horrified eyes.

“What—?”

A red mechanical eye peered at her through the hole, illuminating in a blinding light that forced Komaru to trip back from the door. She covered her eyes in a panicked yelp as she fell to the floor.

The claws latched around the door before slowly pulling back. The barrier crumpled in on itself like a piece of tin foil as it was yanked off its hinges. Komaru stared like a moth being pulled into a light trap, about to be electrocuted to death.

_Move._

A bear walked through her doorway, shattering the reality Komaru had come to know. A half-white, half-black mechanical bear with claws like kitchen blades. Teeth like a lion’s. A glowing red eye that reminded Komaru of a demon.

_Move. Move. **MOVE.**_

Komaru finally forced herself to turn her back on the bear and run. She clambered to her feet, breathing heavily through her tears and pounding heart.

“W-what is this?! What’s going on?!” She sprinted to the back of her living room, looking back to see the bear let out a robotic laugh and charge towards her.

A laugh? Did that thing just _laugh?!_

The bear dove at Komaru’s head, claws swiping. Komaru let out a scream and jumped out of range, watching the bear’s claws shatter the glass window all over the room.

“G-get away from me!” Komaru stammered, maneuvering herself around the dining table. A bitter smell came into the room and she felt her heart skip a beat.

 _Smoke?_ Was there a fire nearby?

She did not get to think more on it before the bear was hobbling towards her again. It slashed through the table and sent her breakfast remains flying. Komaru made for the front door, hearing the bear slip on the spilled coffee and crash into something else in her room.

It was so unfair. She had imagined this moment so many different ways in her head over the past year and a half. The moment when she would finally step outside that door and be free. When everything would finally stop being the same. For so long she had waited and hoped, and now that moment was _here_...and she couldn’t even stop for a moment to register it.

Komaru sprinted down the hall of the apartment complex, seeing several rooms and halls ablaze with fire. Smoke stung in her eyes and she could hear the sounds of something collapsing in the distance.

“Where’s the elevator?!” She frantically ran around the halls, searching through the maze for any way off this floor. Komaru could hear the steps of the bear hunting her, padding not far behind.

“A bear...a black and white bear...” She wanted to laugh at the fear in her words. What kind of nightmare was she in where a robot _bear_ wanted to kill her? What kind of twisted movie plot did she just get thrown into?

“What should I do, what should I do?!” Just as the hysteria was about to overtake her, Komaru spotted the elevators in the distance. With an elated gasp, she rushed to the doors, pressing the button over and over again. “Hurry! Help...please! Hurry!” She watched the numbers on the elevator slowly rise as it drew near.

The bear let out a loud distorted cackle behind her, and Komaru looked back fearfully to see it charging at her fast. She was trapped. The elevator wasn’t moving fast enough. It was practically on top of her and it—

The elevator dinged, signaling it’s arrival. The teenage girl snapped out of her downspiral to try and pry open the elevator faster.

The doors opened, and suddenly Komaru was face to face with a group of armed men dressed in suits. At the front, a tall blonde man who’s icy blue gaze peered down at her from behind a pair of sharp glasses. His expression turned to a scowl and he pointed a large megaphone in the startled girl’s face. Without a word, Komaru watched him pull a trigger. She had a split second to register the sound of the megaphone powering up, and dodged a ball of bright blue energy that blasted out of the man’s weapon. Komaru watched in awe as the energy collided with the bear, exploding on impact in a brilliant electric flash. Mechanical parts and wires scattered over the floor. The bear’s severed head rolled near the teenage girl, sparks flying from the detached wires.

“You must be Komaru Naegi.” She finally tore her gaze from the mangled robot to look up at the man speaking to her. The blonde at the front of the party stepped forward. “Future Foundation 14th Division, Byakuya Togami.” As he spoke, the remaining members scattered off into the halls.

Komaru jumped at the sound of distant gunshots. Her timid eyes flickered back and forth between the where she had come from and the intimidating man before her. “U-Um...” She was at a loss for words. It had been so long since she had seen another human being, let alone spoken to one. Now she was face to face with several all at once and she was suddenly tongue-tied?

_Get it together, Komaru..._

“Don’t get the wrong idea and start crying,” he continued, holstering his weapon. His voice was as sharp as his suit. “I’m _not_ the one who imprisoned you here. Actually...I’m here to rescue you.”

Komaru felt her heart begin to race again. “Huh?!” _Rescue_ her...how long had she been waiting to hear those words? The shock of this entire situation was hitting her all at once. She just wanted to curl up into a ball right here on the floor and—

“Future Foundation received intel that a Captive was imprisoned somewhere inside this building.” Byakuya crossed his arms, watching the gears in Komaru’s head begin to turn as she finally got to her feet.

“Future...Foundation?”

He gave a curt nod. “It would appear that intel was correct.” His cold gaze flicked to the severed bear head on the ground. “However....”

Komaru watched him march up to the decapitated bear. His lips pulled back into a snarl. “What is the meaning of _this?!”_ Byakuya’s shoulders stiffened and he felt his hackles raise. “What are all these vermin Monokumas doing here?”

“Monokuma..?” Komaru looked down at the lifeless bear. _So these things do have a name..._

The blonde man raised a hand to his glasses, muttering to himself aloud. “No matter how you look at it, the timing is just too perfect...” Komaru stayed quiet, watching her rescuer analyze over the situation. Taking a moment to finally look at him, she realized he was quite young. He couldn’t be more than a year or two older than her, but...that look in his eyes. Komaru knew that look. This was someone who had looked despair in the eye more than once. She sadly wondered what those eyes had seen, and it made her curious to know just how much older she herself seemed after all this time.

 _Would her family even recognize her?_ The thought made her stomach churn.

“Just as we show up, a riot breaks out...no, they must have known we were coming,” Byakuya concluded bitterly.

“A riot?!” Komaru exclaimed with wide eyes.

The young man paid no attention to her. His thoughtful expression stayed on the bear head at his feet. “Perhaps the intel itself was a trap to lure us here...”

Komaru approached him on shaky legs. “U-um...wh-what do you mean, ‘riot’? What’s going on outside? And that black and white bear thing back there, what was that?! What’s going on?!” Finally she had her voice, as frantic and broken as it was. But she needed answers. She deserved that, right? After everything she had endured?

Byakuya finally looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “So you don’t even know Monokuma?” He let out something between a scoff and a chuckle. “That kind of ignorance must be nice.” Komaru watched him cross his arms again and his gaze fell back to the bear. “...he was just like that the first time I met him.”

“H-him?”

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” He stepped towards Komaru with an annoyed sigh. “I guess I’ll tell you...”

She smiled up at him in relief. Her mouth opened to thank him and—

His sharp eyes suddenly looked past her. “But it’ll have to wait,” he said quickly. Byakuya tensed as he took hold of his megaphone weapon once more. “Now’s no time to talk!”

“Huh?!” Komaru whirled around to see dozens of the same kind of bear who burst into her room. They came from the windows, burst out from behind doors, dropped out of the vents in the ceiling. The other armed men who had arrived with Byakuya were doing everything to fight them off. Gunfire and blades crossing echoed through the hall as the brave men battled against the Monokumas. The men who had come here to rescue _her..._

“There’s no end to them!”

“Bring it on!”

“Keep them back!”

Komaru felt her body trembling as she watched the soldiers fight against the onslaught of murderous bears. But for every Monokuma that dropped, two more took its place. They were being overwhelmed.

“More of them..?!” Komaru saw one soldier fall to the bear’s claws, his blood painting the wall red and his dying screams ringing in her ears. The teenage girl took a step back in horror.

She had never seen a person die before. Never seen someone be mauled to death...

He wasn’t the last. In those brief seconds she looked onto the battle, Komaru watched several of the men drop dead. Torn apart. Bitten in half. Crushed. Impaled.

For her. They were here, for **_her._** These people she knew nothing about were being horribly murdered...to rescue her.

_Why?! I don’t understand...I’m nobody! I’m just a regular high school girl!_

“Wh-what should I do?!” She couldn’t bear just standing there anymore. She couldn’t just do nothing and watch these people die for her...right?

“‘Should’? Do _really_ think you have an option other than ‘run’?” Byakuya asked coldly, startling her as he tossed a megaphone in her hands.

Komaru stared down at it in confusion. It was identical to the one she watched Byakuya take out the Monokuma about to kill her earlier.

He looked back over his shoulder at the stunned girl. “It’s a Hacking Gun developed by Future Foundation. It shoots program codes with electric-magnetic waves,” Byakuya said, as if it were the most obvious explanation. As if she was supposed to understand what any of that meant. “It appears to be affective against these Monokumas, though you should have discerned that from the test shot earlier.”

Komaru looked up at him in alarm. _Test shot?! Does that mean he had no idea whether that would have stopped the bear? I could’ve been...killed?!_

“Read the operation instructions included with the gun,” he continued. His gaze turned to the battle in the hall and he straightened up. “You’re on your own from here.”

“What?!” Komaru stared at her rescuer in disbelief. “Wh-what do you mean?!”

He readied his gun and glanced back at her one last time. “You can run, can’t you? I’m busy. Now that I’ve seen these annoying bears, I can’t just leave them be.”

Komaru’s eyes fell on the megaphone in her hands. It suddenly felt much heavier. “But...run? W-where would I go?”

“A member of Future Foundation is on standby at a restaurant across the street.”

A stray Monokuma burst out of a nearby room. It lunged at Byakuya and Komaru with a wild laugh, only to be blasted to pieces by another shot from his weapon.

“Hurry up and go!” Byakuya barked back at her as if she was another one of the soldiers. A Monokuma dropped from the ceiling and he sent it reeling with another shot. “You’re just in the way here!” And with that, he dove into the fray with the other soldiers, blasting an assortment of various colored shots at the swarm of bears.

Pain wrenching her heart again, Komaru did as she was told. She opened the elevator doors once more and hurried inside. The last thing she saw before the doors finally closed was Byakuya getting into a brawl with one of the Monokumas.

The silence of the elevator ride was disorienting. She filled it with the sounds of her strangled cries, sniffling against her hand like a child.

_The first people I meet in over a year...and they all get themselves killed trying to rescue me._

She let out a anguished cry, slamming a fist against the side wall of the elevator. “No! I-I can’t think like that,” Komaru shouted in frustration at herself. “I won’t!”

A soft ding sounded, alerting her the elevator had come to the ground floor. She wiped the tears from her eyes as the doors slid open and she finally saw the exit to the godforsaken apartment complex.

_My name is Komaru Naegi. I’m a completely normal high school girl who lives an abnormal everyday life...and thanks to the help of the Future Foundation, I’ve finally been given the chance to see my world. I will not let their bravery go to waste._

The teenage girl took a deep breath and gripped the Hacking Gun tightly in her hand.

_My story is **NOT** over yet._


	3. Toko

_Two days. That was all it took for the entire city to fall apart. The Monokumas were one thing, but when those **brats** showed up..._

_Children fitted in helmets resembling the monstrous bears swarming the city began to pop up by the hundreds, calling themselves the **Monokuma Kids.** Whatever tech was in those metal helmets allowed them to take control of the Monokumas, and it was all downhill from there. They slaughtered their own families before turning on the adults, butchering anyone and everyone they could get their hands on. The kids treated the whole situation like some kind of video game._

Toko looked up from her notes. She was seated on the edge of a roof, legs dangling over the side. Her gaze fell on two Monokuma kids in the street below her, handling a dead body like a puppet. Toko tightened her grip on the pen.

Human life was such a fragile thing. To see so much blatant carelessness for it just...made her sick.

_As if **YOU** have any right to be the judge of that._

Toko winced at the barbed stray thought cutting into the back of her head. She tried to bury herself back into her notebook. 

_The Monokumas were just their toys, the adults too. Just playthings for them to watch fight each other, like ants under a magnifying glass._

_Future Foundation tried and **failed** to take back control of the area. Every time they sent in reinforcements, they were forced to retreat. And that was if they were lucky enough to survive..._

_Master Byakuya still remains missing. As the **Stranger** told me when I got here, he’s somewhere in this city. However, this **‘headquarters’** he spoke of...I can’t seem to find any trace of it. The adults left here are so hellbent on their own survival they **won’t** trust anyone, and I can never get close enough to one of the brats to question them. I’m completely alone, and I’m running out of options._

_Whoever **masterminded** this...they’ve seemed to have thought of everything._

With a sigh of defeat, Toko closed the small red book.

“Trying to act like the Ultimate Detective isn’t going to get you anywhere, Fukawa,” she chastised herself before shoving her notes in a pocket. “How the hell does this help Kirigiri anyway? I feel like I’m writing a damn diary, not taking notes on an investigation,” Toko huffed in frustration.

She looked out over the city, feeling the wind blow through her hair as the elusive zeppelin drifted overhead. _The watchdog of the city._ She had watched that airship destroy all hope of leaving this place over and over again. It was a force to be reckoned with, but only to those attempting escape. It never attacked aircraft that traveled to the city.

Toko bit into her fingernail as the stress of the situation began to creep back into her thoughts.

Two days. She’d been here for two days and she had learned nothing. No progress was made. Hell, she couldn’t even find out the NAME of this shitty city. At this rate, finding Master Byakuya was going to be impossible. She was going to run out of time. How long would these disturbed kids wait before finally just killing him, like all the other adults?

She wouldn’t let him die. She _couldn’t_. He was her sole reason for existing. Without him, she was nothing.

She would save him at any cost...

...almost.

The deal that Stranger proposed, it was such an easy request. Find Naegi’s sister, and drop her at the doorstep of the enemy. Simple.

 _Heartless_.

Toko knew that they’d kill her, she wasn’t a fool. It’d be like leading a lamb to the slaughterhouse. _No better than killing her myself._

She drew her knees up to her chest and let out a muffled groan. “I c-can’t do it. I-I promised him. I-I promised M-Master...” Toko wiped the tears in her eyes.

No more killing. That was the deal.

“Knowingly leading someone to their death is _still_ murder,” she sighed quietly.

But two days had gone by now, and she was still no closer to rescuing Byakuya than the day she watched him leave the helicopter.

_I’m running out of time._

A distant scream caught her attention, and Toko looked up to see a figure and a parachute gliding out from the zeppelin in the clouds. Her grey eyes narrowed.

“A-another one?”

This was the third person she had seen dropped from the airship in the last two days. Each time the person would find themselves swarmed by Monokumas. It was a pain, trying to get them out of danger, but...it wasn’t like she had much of a choice.

Toko stood up, withdrawing the stun gun she had come to rely on a lot since coming to this city.

Every time someone came from that zeppelin, there was a chance it could be Byakuya. She had enough experience to recognize an _execution_ when she saw one, and these unarmed people getting dumped into an onslaught of murderous robot bears was DEFINITELY someone getting rid of their excess prisoners. She wasn’t just going to sit by when there was a chance her Master or someone who knows where he could be was about to get massacred. That was all there was to it.

It’s not like she thought she could make up for anything by saving a few people here and there...

Toko dug her fingernails into her wrist, trying to focus on the sting over the dreadful feeling in her chest. _Stop it. Focus you idiot, this isn’t about you._

She let out a shaky breath and raised the stun gun to her temple. _Follow the parachute. Find out what they know._

Toko pulled the trigger and slammed her eyes shut.

When they opened again, they were red. An ecstatic giggle rolled out of the young woman as she straightened up a bit more confidently.

“Another rescue mission, eh?” Red eyes fell on the figure drifting towards the cityscape. “Man, at this rate we’re gonna have to seriously consider rebranding,” she said with an airy sigh.

The Ultimate Murderer took off at a sprint, leaping off the rooftop to the fire escape of the next building over with ease. She hopped onto the guardrail, balanced as perfectly as a professional tightrope-walker. “Can’t keep calling ourselves the Ultimate Murderer if we don’t _murder_ anymore, ya know. That’d be like still calling a caterpillar a caterpillar after it already went through its metamorphous stage,” she laughed to no one in particular. “Well...as long as we still get to tear into something, I guess it doesn’t matter what little Miss Sour-Puss points us at,” she grinned. With an elated hum, the young woman reached into a hidden holster strapped to her thigh and pulled out a pair of silver scissors.

She let out a cackle and leapt from the rail to the next building over, slamming the scissors into the wall. Like a climber scaling the mountainside, she used the embedded blades to hoist herself to the top of the roof. The figure in the parachute’s screams were getting louder. She watched them land on the roof of a ruined hospital.

An echo of mechanical distorted laughter brought her attention below. Dozens of Monokumas were already making their way up the sides of the run-down building, clawing up the walls like rats.

“Disgusting little toys,” she said with a huff. “What a pain, no matter how hard they try, nothing will stop us from—“

The Ultimate Murderer paused as the breeze hit her, bringing in a familiar scent. Her red eyes widened and her lips curled back in a large grin. _“Master~”_

They sprung towards the hospital with lightning speed, vaulting over the rooftops and skipping along telephone wires. She was at the hospital in a flash, silent as a panther on the hunt. Her scissors took out three bears as she made her way up to the roof. Or was it four? With two more decapitated Monokumas dropping to the streets below, she decided to stop keeping count.

Hopping the chain link fence was as easy as breathing to her. There wasn’t a barrier around that could keep her out. Hunting instincts took over, and processed the scene before her in a heartbeat.

_Four Monokumas on ground. Two approaching the person under the parachute. Too small to be Master, but not small enough to be one of those masked brats. Find source of Master’s scent._

She sped off to take out the bears closest to the parachute first. A single bound over the first two Monokumas landed her directly behind the others. And like a viper she struck, slashing through the metal skulls of the toys down their backs. The two fell to the ground in four sparking halves. With a hiss, she whirled around just in time to block the massive claws of her other two opponents.

One cut. One block. Two cuts. One _kill_. The attacks were simple, as she expected. These kinds of Monokumas weren’t a threat to someone with an ounce of fighting experience. The final slash of her scissors swept across one bear’s throat and landed in between the eyes of the second. No blood, there never was. Boring.

Both bears dropped lifeless to the ground and the Ultimate Murderer burst into a cackle of laughter. “Killing these things just doesn’t light my fire!” She twirled her scissors around in her hands before looking back at the parachute.

As expected, it wasn’t her Master looking back at her. _Another rando,_ she mused to herself. _A girl this time._

The person curled under the parachute stared up at her with wide eyes that reminded her of a lost puppy. Green eyes. _Wait._

_We’d know those sappy hopeful eyes anywhere. **Naegi’s** eyes._

_“....found you~”_

The Monokumas at her feet burst into flames, the explosion throwing the parachute back from the young woman and exposing her fully. The Ultimate Murderer neared her before she blinked an eye, inches from her face.

“Hey you!” The girl yelped in surprise at the piercing red eyes flicking over every inch of her, studying her. “You’re Komaru Naegi, right? Right, right? Isn’t that _right?!”_ The Ultimate Murderer was practically vibrating with excitement. Two days of nothing, no progress in her hunt. Now she had her hands on the key to victory itself.

The girl continued to say nothing. She just...stared at her. There was no fear in her eyes either, just bewilderment. Red eyes narrowed. _That wasn’t allowed._

She flicked the point of her scissors at the girl’s throat, and her voice lowered to an inhuman growl. “If not, you better tell us. I’ll cut you up into little pieces and line you up at the meat counter!” With one threatening snip of her scissors, she watched the girl finally start to tremble. _There’s that fear..._

“Yes that’s right!” The girl spluttered out in a loud shout. “I’m Komaru Naegi!”

The Ultimate Murderer lowered her weapon, turning her attention towards a creak behind her. “Eh?”

More Monokumas. The chain link fence rang out as dozens of bears began to crawl up the sides onto the roof, surrounding them.

She heard the girl gasp in terror. “Oh no...there’s more of them!”

The Ultimate Murderer burst into laughter. “Man, what a pain,” she said in an airy sigh. Her eyes flicked to the right, and her scissors were sent flying into the head of a Monokuma trying to sneak over the hospital roof entrance. It exploded on impact, and the scissors landed in the ground back at her feet.

The girl, Komaru, was still staring open-mouthed at the burning bear when she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist. Komaru’s rescuer yanked her into a sprint without any warning. “Time to run, Komaru!” And with another fit of wild laughter, the two ran to the other side of the roof.

The Ultimate Murderer practically threw Komaru behind the tall air conditioning units. Her red eyes scanned over the roof, watching the bears slowly continue to drop in. They had about five minutes before those idiot machines finally figured out where they were.

She finally faced Komaru and looked her over. They were around the same age, Komaru definitely a tad more youthful, and she didn’t need the shabby school uniform the girl was wearing to tell her that. Reading people came with the job.

_Can’t hunt if you don’t know your prey..._

She looked healthy, this Naegi girl. No injuries, nothing that looked like it would slow her down. No weapons either, just an odd-looking megaphone clipped to her belt loop. Not that it mattered. Just from one look at this girl’s soft eyes told her that Komaru didn’t have a violent bone in her body. Like her brother, there was absolutely nothing threatening about her. In fact, there didn’t seem to be _anything_ that stuck out to her at all about this girl.

_So why do they want you?_

It couldn’t be just to get back at Naegi, she was sure of that. They would have just killed her already and sent proof of the murder back to her brother. This...keeping his sister alive to fend for herself in this shithole town...this wasn’t just about revenge. There was more to it.

The Ultimate Murderer felt something inside her shift. _Wait, why do we care? None of that even matters! Who gives a shit about what they want with this girl? That’s not our problem. We turn her in, Master comes back. End of story._

Red eyes met green, and once more, she felt something inside her shifting. It made every muscle in her tense.

 _This is officially above my pay grade,_ the young woman grumbled silently. She turned her gaze back out to the bears tripping over themselves trying to figure out where their targets had gone. _I kill things, not mull over pointless mysteries. Focus on the mission. One thing at a time. Analyze the bears. Something simple..._

“Ahh,” she found herself mumbling aloud after a moment. “So that Monokuma’s some kind of automaton robot...I see, I see...” An amused grin formed on her face. “Ha! No wonder it sucks more than the other one! Well, that’s modern technology for you!” Her tongue slithered over her lips as she got lost in her own train of thought. “I mean, it’s not like this is sci-fi or something. It’s _borderline_ sci-fi at most,” she added before cackling.

“U-um...?”

The Ultimate Murderer was instantly at full alert again, looking back at the trembling girl she rescued. It was strange, she couldn’t understand why but something about the Naegi girl put her on edge. The sound of Komaru’s voice alone was enough to make her want to get away. She didn’t like it. It made her want to bury her scissors between those pretty green eyes and be done with it.

_Well now, there’s no need to be THAT rude about it! She’s not some cute boy, you know. Since when do we kill girls?_

“Yes, madame?” She finally replied to Komaru, placing a hand on her hip and grinning at her. “What business do you have with us?”

The brunette’s gaze couldn’t hold hers. It flickered to the ground, to the side, anywhere else but back at the red eyes in front of her. The Ultimate Murderer found herself raising an eyebrow. There was no trace of fear in Komaru’s nervous expression, yet she could not look her in the eye.

This girl was very strange indeed.

“A-are you...here to rescue me?” Komaru asked.

Once again, the Ultimate Murderer felt herself tense. _She knew we were coming? Did that white haired bastard set us up?_ She bristled. _We’re starting to get really tired of this middle-man business..._

Without a word she marched up to Komaru and pointed her scissors at the girl’s face. Komaru let out a yelp, stumbling back in terror.

“...Hm, Dekomaru, was it?”

_If we call her a boy’s name, **THEN** we can kill her, right?_

“I-it’s ‘Komaru’...Komaru Naegi!”

_Ugggh, no that’s not going to work. She’s too loud to be a boy...how annoying._

“And where’s Master Byakuya?” The Ultimate Murderer took another threatening step towards Komaru. “You know where he is, _right?”_

The girl blinked at her in confusion. “H-huh?”

Red eyes moved to the megaphone clipped to Komaru’s back. She twirled her scissors in her hand before sniffing the air and shivering in delight. “That gun you’re holding. It’s _dripping_ with the Master’s scent!”

Komaru blinked again, this time raising an eyebrow herself. “Y-you can... _smell_ it?”

The silver blades were back at the brunette’s throat in an instant. “You got a death wish or somethin’?! Hiding the Master from us will _cut_ your life expectancy!”

“N-no, no, no!” Komaru shook her hands out in front of herself frantically, backing herself against the AC unit. “I’m, I’m not hiding hi—“

_Alright, I’ve heard more than enough out of this puppy-eyed girl. She isn’t going to give us anything useful._

“Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven...” The Ultimate Murderer started impatiently snipping her scissors to the beat, drawing closer and closer. She found herself grinning madly at the fear rising in Komaru’s face.

_Oh my, she’s even cuter when she’s quivering! We are **SO** killing her!_

“Wh-what are you doing?” Komaru’s nervous gaze flicked back and forth between the scissors and the bearer’s eyes, now inches from her own.

_What’s one dead girl to our spotless record? Besides, we’re probably doing her a favor. Whatever those brats had planned for her couldn’t possibly be as painless as we’ll be. Think of it as...a mercy kill!_

“If you don’t give us our Master by the time we get to zero,” the young woman started as she hovered over Komaru. _“I’m gonna cut you like wet mochi!”_ She reveled in the panic now plastered on the Naegi girl’s face. “Four, three, two..!” She started to count faster, getting even more impatient.

“H-hold on!” Komaru’s flustered voice did nothing to dampen the Ultimate Murderer’s spirits. If anything, it just solidified her fate. “I really don’t know—“

“One,” the Ultimate Murderer finished. Her grin widened into a wild smile. Komaru looked like she had stopped breathing altogether.

_Time to put ol’ puppy-eyes to sleep!_

The scissors never moved. Red eyes flicked down at her arm in confusion, seeing her hand trembling. _What?_

**_No._ **

The trembling spread over her body until every muscle felt like she was vibrating. For the first time in many, many years, she felt a twinge of fear.

**_Stop it!_ **

The Ultimate Murderer scoffed in annoyance under her breath once she realized what was happening. _Man, you really don’t let us have any fun anymore Fukawa..._

The scissors dropped to the ground, and the red eyes were gone.

Toko Fukawa shook her head, feeling disoriented and woozy, like someone had just knocked her skull against a wall. What the hell just happened? Did...did they just switch on their own?

_Well that’s new._

Toko’s vision finally cleared and she found herself staring at a total stranger near inches away from her face. Toko practically shrieked, gray eyes wide as she leapt back from the stranger.

“Wh-who are you?!”

Toko watched the confusion contort the teenage girl’s face. _“HUH?!”_

That kind of reaction could only mean one thing. Toko winced. She hated this part, having to explain this mess to people over and over again. Before she opened her mouth, she was hit with a wave of scattered thoughts and emotions that weren’t her own. Brief flashes of memories she didn’t recognize. Toko looked over the girl in front of her once more, dread filling in her stomach and making her feel sick.

“W-wait, don’t tell me! You’re Komaru Naegi, aren’t you?! I got it, right?!”

_Please be wrong. Please be a mistake. Don’t tell me—_

“Uh, I...just told you that...”

 _Dammit._ Toko bit into her fingernail, thoughts racing.

“Oh, did you?”

_Why? Why did it have to be you?_

Her frustration and despair was starting to hit a boiling point. “I-I can’t help it, you know!” She snapped, startling Komaru. “I don’t share memories with her!” _Coherent ones, anyway._

Komaru’s brow furrowed, her head tilting to the side like Toko had just told her something insane like that the earth was actually shaped like rock candy. “Her..? Memories..?” The girl clutched at her hair and shook her head. Toko stared in surprise. “Gah, jeez! Stop saying stuff that makes no sense!” She sounded on the verge of tears. “Everything is confusing enough as it is...”

The Ultimate Writer’s gaze turned somber. _She sounds just like them...just like every one of us at Hope’s Peak when we first woke up without our memories,_ Toko thought sadly. Panicked, confused, desperate for answers. She was all too familiar with that feeling.

The sound of footsteps brought Toko out of her memories, seeing Komaru march right up to her with the most intense expression shining in those bright green eyes.

“At _least_ tell me whether you’re an enemy or a friend!” She demanded.

Toko stared back at her, mouth open and trembling. Enemy or friend. It should be an easy question. It was.

_If only the answer was that simple too..._

She had to make a decision. Use this girl, or keep up her useless search. Toko dug her nails into her wrist and lowered her eyes to the concrete.

“W-well...you can call me your ally.”

_But you shouldn’t._

Toko waited for the suspicion. The snappy remarks saying that she would have to prove her loyalty. They never came.

“Then come on! If we don’t hurry, we’re gonna get attacked!” Komaru didn’t even blink. She just kept talking as if they had been working together for weeks already. Toko’s gray eyes snapped up to meet hers in disbelief, flabbergasted by this girl’s blind faith.

Seeing Komaru’s worried gaze turn to the bears starting to close in finally forced her out of her speechless stupor. “I-it’s alright...”

Komaru looked back at Toko. “Huh?”

“N-no it’s...it’s alright...I can do it because...I made a promise...with _hiiiim_ ,” Toko said dreamily. Her mind drifted off into a risqué fantasy with her Master. Finally, she found herself feeling lighter than she had in days. Even if it was only for a moment.

When Toko came down from her high, she found Komaru staring at her as if she had grown a second head. “Um...are you okay?” Komaru asked carefully, her face as red as her uniform ribbon.

Toko flushed in embarrassment, wiping the drool from her face and praying to every god she knew of that she hadn’t said anything out loud. “L-like I said,” Toko said quickly, changing the subject as fast as she could. “It will be alright! I can make good use of her now. I’ve learned a lot since then,” she finished in a lower tone.

Komaru watched her start to walk away from their hiding place. “We’re gonna take them all down. Right here, right now! I’ll, I’ll...smash ‘em to pieces!” Toko tried to stand up a bit straighter before looking back at the teenage girl looking towards her in awe. For the second time, Toko felt her face flush at the distracting green eyes staring back at her, and she lost all focus in that instant. “L-let’s go! Um....O....Omaru Naegi!”

The brunette’s face scrunched up in response. “‘Omaru’?”

Toko’s face turned even redder, registering her mistake. She picked up the pair of scissors on the ground with a nervous laugh. “I-I uh...just meant...um...”

She pulled out her stun gun without saying another word. One pull of the trigger and the Ultimate Murderer took off towards the Monokumas, cackling wildly.

It didn’t take long. Scissors tore through nearly every bear, sending titanium scrap parts flying. The roof was soon decorated with explosions like fireworks, Monokumas bursting into flames one by one.

She felt Komaru’s eyes on her the entire time. It was _extremely_ distracting. As incredibly easy as these targets were, the Ultimate Murderer did in fact find herself making some very stupid mistakes.

At the sound of a strange blast, her red eyes flicked away from the bear she currently had her scissors embedded in. The Naegi girl was using that strange gun. She shot away balls of energy at the Monokumas drawing too close.

_Huh, the girl can actually hold her own._

The Ultimate Murderer was suddenly thrown back, the bear under her grasp shrugging away her grip. It’s claws lashed out at her wildly, seemingly unphased by the two pairs of scissors buried into its face.

“Hey, watch out!”

A blast of energy collided with the Monokuma in front of her, sending it reeling. With a snarl, the Ultimate Murderer leapt at the downed bear and tore out her weapons. The force ripped the robot’s head in half. In the same breath, she flung her scissors at the two final Monokuma left. The blades flew right by the sides of Komaru’s head into the red eyes of the bears behind her.

“Watch out _yourself_ ,” the young woman hissed as she walked past a startled Komaru. She scowled at the downed robots, forcefully tearing her scissors out of the Monokumas and shoving them back into their holster. “Stupid, stupid girl,” she grumbled to herself in annoyance. _Who did this chick think she was?_ Her red eyes narrowed at the Naegi girl approaching and she quickly reached for the stun gun.

_She’s **YOUR** problem now._

Komaru clipped the megaphone back to her belt loop, watching the black-haired girl shake her head after a zap from the gun. Gray eyes met hers as she straightened her glasses.

“Th-that was all of them, right?” Toko asked, cautiously looking around the roof to see all the remains of the Monokuma scattered around.

“...amazing...” Toko looked back to see Komaru smiling at her. “That was amazing!”

The Ultimate Writing Prodigy blinked in surprise, finding herself completely taken aback by this girl once again. She just watched a complete stranger tear through an entire army of militarized machines like they were piñatas at a kid’s birthday party, and there wasn’t a trace of fear in her face. In fact, the only word Toko could use to describe the emotion in Komaru’s soft eyes was... _admiration._

This was indeed, a very strange girl.

“What _was_ that just now?! It’s like you were a totally different person!” Komaru said excitedly.

Toko took a step back from her, gritting her teeth and lowering her gaze. “...too casual,” she huffed.

Komaru’s head tilt to the side once again. “...huh?” It reminded Toko of a dog trying to understand a command from it’s owner. An innocent act of confusion, endearing and almost...cute.

Suddenly her other half’s anger towards the Naegi girl made sense, and Toko felt herself instantly throw up every wall of defense at the high school girl.

“D-don’t speak to me so casually,” Toko snapped. The harsh tone of her voice made Komaru wince. “Like I’m o-one of your _friends_ or something! I’m your senior!”

Toko watched the Naegi girl shuffle back, feeling both relieved and guilty at the distance. “B-but, you...still haven’t told me your name,” Komaru said, sounding a lot quieter than before.

_You’re being cruel. This girl probably thought she was going to die five minutes ago and here you are, chastising her like a hall monitor. Get over yourself Fukawa, it’s not like she’s asking you to give her your bank account number!_

Anxiously picking at the chewed skin of her thumb, Toko let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sure you’re just going to forget it right away, but...it’s Toko Fukawa.”

Komaru crossed her arms and slowly repeated it back. “Toko...Fukawa...”

Toko glanced up at her to see the girl pondering over her name deeply, and suddenly she felt her stomach doing somersaults. Anxiety started squeezing her insides until it hurt, and Toko blurt out her next sentences out of instinct.

“Oh, _sorryyyy_ for having such a boring name! I bet you think its perfect for a hag like me, right?!” She practically spat, startling Komaru out of her thoughts.

“I-I don’t think that at all,” the girl insisted. Toko watched her brow furrow in concern for a moment, opening her mouth to say something before deciding against it. Instead Komaru’s gaze flicked off to the side and she fiddled with the thick, black wristband on her arm. “A-anyway...what was all that about earlier? You were a completely different person.”

Toko flinched. Now it was her who looked away. “I...couldn’t tell you.”

“...what?”

“I d-don’t remember,” Toko admitted quietly. “Didn’t I already tell you? We don’t share memories.”

“Um...I don’t really get it...”

Guilt and shame clawing at her insides, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy groaned in anger. “It’s like I said!” Toko barked, her face reddening both in frustration and humiliation as she glared at the brunette. “I have split personality! That...girl...wasn’t me!” The blank look on Komaru’s face only made Toko feel worse, and she was forced to turn away as she continued. “S-she’s the Ultimate Murderer. People used to call her Genocide Jack.”

Silence. Three beats of silence and Toko’s heart was pounding in her chest. Her anxiety was making her tremble, she felt sick.

She knew what came next. The fear, the disgust. She’d seen it so many times that had most people’s reactions memorized. It never surprised her. Hell, she couldn’t blame anyone for taking one look at a freak with a serial killer inside of them and running for the hills...

...she just wished she could make it stop hurting every time it happened.

“...ooookayyy?”

Toko whipped around to face Komaru, once again instincts taking over as she lashed out. “Y-you don’t believe me, right?! You think I’m just some f-filthy woman who’s sick in the head!” She could feel tears stinging in her eyes, and it just made her angrier. At herself, at the world, at everything. “Y-you’re probably wondering how a stupid pig managed to l-learn how to talk, aren’t you?!”

Komaru’s eyes grew wide as she shook her head. “I don’t think that!” She said quickly. “Well, maybe the first bit..?” She fidgeted with the wristband again. “I mean, it’s true that it’s...a little hard to believe, and I was...pretty surprised...” Toko watched her take a careful step to close the distance between them again and she met Toko’s gaze with a soft smile. “But if that’s what you say, I believe you. It was a pretty drastic change, after all,” she chuckled.

Toko’s brow furrowed. Komaru’s friendly expression seemed genuine, but that only made her more tense. She looked over the high school girl incredulously. “You believe me just like _that?_ What are you, stupid or something?”

She refused to believe it. People like this didn’t exist. No one would ever just...accept what she just told Komaru. In her entire eighteen years of existence, _never_ had she met a single person who didn’t either refuse to believe her condition or instantly want nothing to do with her the moment they found out the truth.

Toko wrote stories about people who said what Komaru just did _because_ they weren’t real.

Komaru groaned. “Well, what was I supposed to say?!” She glared at the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, frustration burning in her cheeks.

Toko scoffed in response, shaking her head and mumbling to herself. “Well, if you really are this stupid, that just makes this easier...” _It makes leading you into a trap easier. Leading you to your—_

She stopped the train of thought in its tracks. None of that. If she was going to give this girl up for her Master, then she was going to do it believing they had no intention of killing her.

_Now you sound just as stupid as the girl._

“I-it’s just...I feel like I’ve heard the name ‘Genocide Jack’ somewhere before...” Toko felt her shoulders tense at the mention of her other half.

“I-I see...so you still remember,” Toko sighed. “Well, no point in hiding it now. It was all over the talk shows back in the days after all...”

Komaru’s thoughtful gaze flicked back and forth, and Toko could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Talk shows...? _Wait._ ” Her bright eyes suddenly grew wide. “Could it be...?” She shook her head. “No, never mind. Couldn’t be.”

Toko raised an eyebrow. “Wh-what?”

The brunette chuckled. “It’s just, I feel like I’ve heard a similar name on the news about some serial killer,” she said, sounding embarrassed. Like it was silly, impossible.

_If only..._

“...yeah,” Toko admitted with another sigh. “That’s the one.”

Komaru’s face paled. _“What?!”_

_And there’s the fear. I guess she’s not a complete idiot after all._

“B-but, that was just in the old days,” Toko pathetically tried to explain. She knew it was pointless. Trying to damage control any of this was impossible. Especially when it came to her. “I-I’ve completely tamed her since then!” _Lie_. “M-Master commanded me to discover the secret, and I learned the stun gun does the trick.” _But she’s also a stubborn brat who hates being told what to do._ “And depending on how much shock I give myself, after a while I go back to my normal self.”

The young woman grinned proudly. “Isn’t it great? It’s all thanks to Master Byakuya!” If there was one thing she be honest about, it was that.

Komaru shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, anyway...it seems like a good skill to have. With that power, we can get through ‘em easy!”

Toko frowned. “D-don’t be dense. Didn’t I just say I need the stun gun to change? My brain would _fry_ if I just did it over and over!” She shook her head. “I can’t just use it at will like that...”

Concern suddenly flooded Komaru’s face. “Really...?” Her soft eyes looked over Toko again, this time much more intensely.

What was she looking for? Injuries? Toko felt her anxiety creeping back. _Why did she care?_

“A-Anyway,” she said quickly, wanting the girl’s attention literally anywhere else. “What is your relationship with Master Byakuya, hm?” Her eyes narrowed at the megaphone. “Why do y-you have that Hacking Gun?”

Komaru followed her gaze and winced. “I-I was saved by him earlier...” Toko caught the pain laced in that statement. “He gave this gun to me.”

Toko’s eyes widened. “S-saved?! Master Byakuya... _saved_ you?!” A million thoughts raced through her head at once, dozens of emotions bubbling to the surface as she tried to process what Komaru just told her.

He was captured because of her?! Master was locked up somewhere in this godforsaken city for... **her?!** Why?! What the hell did she mean to him?

She tried to ignore the ripple of jealously coursing through her. It didn’t make any sense. Master Byakuya never let anyone get in his way. He made sure no one would ever come before him or his mission of protecting his family’s legacy. It’s why he was so cold! It’s why he never gave anyone the time of day!

_Never gave me the time of day._

Toko’s hands balled into shaky fists. Why would he throw all of that away, risk everything, for this girl?! He had never even _met_ her!

She looked Komaru over once more, scanning over every inch, trying to find something, anything to explain why this was happening. But again, Toko found nothing. She didn’t seem to have a noticeable talent, she wasn’t carrying anything on her other than the Hacking Gun.

_It couldn’t have just been...her looks, could it?_

What the girl lacked in any noticeable skills, she made up for in physical features. Toko couldn’t deny that, she wasn’t _blind_. Her perfect skin, her toned muscles that were impossible to miss in that damn school uniform that was a size too small for her and her stupidly perfect figure...and her eyes. Those insanely distracting, soft, puppy-dog eyes that told you exactly what she was thinking!

....shit, that had to be it. There was no way anyone with a soul could look this girl in the eye and _not_ want to throw all caution to the wind for her!

Seething with frustration, Toko neared Komaru and pointed a threatening finger at her dumbstruck face. “You better not get not get ahead of yourself!” She growled, trying her best to glare at Komaru directly in the eye. Toko’s defiance fell apart almost instantly, seeing her blink back innocently in genuine confusion. “J-just because you’re ugly in a...cute way!”

_Damn this girl and her stupid adorable face! Now she was getting into MY head?!_

Komaru lowered Toko’s hand from her face and the Ultimate Writing Prodigy felt her blood boil. Even her hands were perfect, as soft as her idiotic trusting smile!

“Wh-why are you angry?!” Komaru spluttered out, sounding flustered.

Toko continued to glare at her. “R-remember this: I won’t let anyone interfere in my romance with Master! I’m going to rescue Master,” she started rambling. “A-and then, in the heat of the moment, we’ll—”

“‘Rescue’?” Komaru suddenly took hold of Toko’s hand. “W-wait! Hold on! Byakuya...was captured?!” A mix of both relief and guilt washed over her face.

Toko’s eyes narrowed and she yanked her hand away. “What, you just figured that out? Why would I even be here if it weren’t for Master?” She started anxiously twisting at her wrist. “H-he was probably ambushed by cowards...there’s no way he’d just allow himself to be captured.”

 _Unless he was protecting someone,_ she added bitterly to herself.

“I-I see...” Komaru’s somber response caught Toko by surprise. “So he was caught after all...” The way her shoulders and head drooped, Toko thought she might as well had the word ‘guilt’ tattooed on her forehead. 

The Ultimate Writer observed her carefully. There was no denying it, the girl was an open book. And a grade school book at that. Komaru had thought Master Byakuya dead, but learning he was taken prisoner had made her somehow feel even worse. She was wracked with pain, and Toko could tell by the subtle tremble in her hands and the tears threatening to form in her eyes that Komaru was holding a lot back. Probably more than she could handle.

_You know better than anyone what that’s like._

“You better not feel responsible for this,” Toko said with a frown. “Your guilt would be an insult to my Master!”

“You’re right,” Komaru sighed. “My worrying won’t change anything...”

The sorrow in her voice seemed to take Toko by the heart and squeezed the life out of it. It was a feeling she had not felt before, and that terrified her.

Toko couldn’t remember another human being who ever made her feel so many things in such a short time. It was suffocating, like she was being shoved into a dark closet.

All the air in her body left after _that_ thought crossed her mind.

She turned away with a groan, rubbing her face at all the overwhelming stress. “Ugh what’s with this chick?! Can’t believe I gotta take this indecisive girl...”

If every moment with the Naegi girl was this emotionally exhausting, then she was going to start considering throwing herself to the Monokumas.

“...What was that?”

Toko flinched, having forgotten about how close they were to each other. She whirled around quickly. “N-nothing! And watch your mouth,” she snapped.

Komaru raised an eyebrow. “I’m...so...terribly...sorry?”

_She doesn’t know how to talk to you because you keep snapping at her like she’s a child!_

Toko sighed, rubbing her face under her glasses. “It’s fine, you’re a lost cause anyway.” Komaru scowled at her in response, but she continued before the girl could say anything. “But more importantly, I want to hurry up and find Master. N-now is not the time to relax.”

Komaru nodded. “You’re right. We’ve got to get out of this building.” She glanced back at the scratched up door to the hospital.

Toko cleared her throat. “W-well then, after you.”

Komaru’s head snapped back to her in alarm. “Huh?! Why do I have to go in first?!”

She raised an eyebrow. “Y-you have Master’s gun, don’t you?” Komaru still looked unconvinced, so Toko continued. “Don’t worry, w-when you’re really in trouble, I’ll save you...I can’t have you dying on me...” The way Komaru’s eyes lit up at her words had Toko’s stomach suddenly doing flips. She quickly turned away before the girl could see her face turn red from embarrassment. “N-now come on, stop staring into space and get moving already! You’re n-not dead yet!”

Komaru let out a huff of frustration. “F-fine,” she said in defeat, and started towards the door.

Toko glanced back at the wrecked Monokumas one last time before following.

_Hang on for just a bit longer Master. We’re on our way now..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up soon! You can follow me on Twitter @jayydoodles for updates and artwork. Happy Tokomaru Tuesday :)


	4. Komaru

Komaru twisted the doorknob in front of her, finding it locked. She moved onto the next door that looked intact. The same. With a huff of frustration, she continued down the dark hallway.

Prickly.

That was the best word Komaru could think of for describing the strange girl now trekking through the abandoned hospital with her. Everything about Toko Fukawa was sharp. Her eyes, her ears, even her words managed to be just as sharp as the scissors she carried. Like a sea urchin, beautiful but dangerous.

Komaru’s gaze lowered to catch a glimpse of the holster through the slit in Toko’s skirt, only to catch sight of several ominous scars etched into the older girl’s thigh. Komaru felt herself wince. They looked self-inflicted, in a stark pattern that almost resembled... _tally marks?_ She tasted bile in her mouth.

That must have been the other her, Komaru reasoned. She watched Toko anxiously gaze back where they had come from, practically shaking in her tattered black school uniform. If Komaru hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she never would have believed this timid girl was capable of killing anything. Let alone _that_ many people.

 _Genocide Jack._ A notorious and brutal serial killer that plagued the streets of Tokyo for about a year or so before Komaru was taken prisoner. She didn’t remember much of what really had been said about the killer, so much had happened since then, but she did remember that all the victims were men. However...

_“If you don’t give us our Master by the time we get to zero, I’m gonna cut you like wet mochi!”_

Komaru felt a chill run down her spine as she recalled those searing red eyes peering down at her. That definitely hadn’t felt like an empty threat.

She twisted another doorknob, startled when this one actually swung open. Toko gasped sharply behind her, and it only took her a moment to see why. A small child in a dirty school uniform stared back at them, it’s head encased in a metal helmet shaped like a Monokuma.

Komaru carefully approached them, Hacking Gun in hand. Her eyes widened in recognition. “I’ve seen this kid before!”

Toko stood beside Komaru and shook her head. “No, it’s probably just another one.” Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses at the small child. “Those brats are all wearing helmets like this.”

“Really?” Komaru lowered the megaphone and looked over the child again, hearing them giggle behind the mask. “But why are they...wearing helmets?”

Toko shrugged before meeting her gaze. “I-I don’t know! These kids only ever talk to each other,” she said quickly. Komaru watched her glare back at the child before them. “Even at a time like this, t-they’re playing around like a bunch of idiots! S-stupid brats...”

The child giggled once more, spinning on their heels carelessly. Komaru glanced around, hoping to see some sort of evidence that this kid wasn’t entirely alone. “But isn’t it dangerous? What if they get attacked by Monokumas?”

“No, you don’t get it.” Toko crossed her arms, her gray eyes falling to the floor as she continued. “T-these brats are working _with_ the Monokumas to kill all the adults.”

Komaru’s attention instantly snapped back to the child. “They’re _what?!”_ She felt herself taking a step back. Her grip on the Hacking Gun tightened.

“Kids killing adults...it’s completely insane,” Toko grumbled next to her. Komaru looked over to see her scratching a hand through her frazzled black hair. “But we can’t just attack these brats. It’s so...frustrating!”

The child laughed in response, swaying back and forth on their feet. Komaru caught sight of an oddly shaped box on the floor near their feet, topped with a dirty green bow.

“Hey Toko...what’s that box next to this kid?”

The pensive girl narrowed her eyes at it. With a cautious glance at the child, she uncrossed her arms. “Who knows? M-maybe you should open it.” From the way she was tensing, Komaru could tell Toko was reaching for her stun gun. Feeling somewhat better knowing that Toko had her back, she reached for the box and opened it. Inside was a pack of bullets Komaru recognized were for the Hacking Gun.

Before she said anything, the child suddenly bolted out of the room. They watched them disappear in surprise. Komaru glanced back down at the bullets in her hand.

“Is that kid...giving this to us? Why help us like this?”

Toko frowned. “M-my guess is...they’re carrying out someone’s order.”

“Huh? ‘Order’?” Komaru sounded startled.

Toko suddenly tensed again before facing her. “Wh-who cares, anyway? No point in wasting out time worrying about mentally damaged kids...”

“Well, that might be true but—”

Toko started walking towards the exit. “It’s fine! Jeez, you’re slow,” she snapped without looking back. “Hurry up already!”

Komaru winced, setting the box down on a nearby desk before padding after her. “O-okay...”

Yeah, prickly was definitely the right word for Toko.

They continued through the dark halls mostly in silence, other than the occasional panicked muttering from Toko about the lack of light. And of course, the skirmishes with the countless Monokumas. As much as she hated it, Komaru found herself starting to get rather good at taking out the robot bears. There were only a handful of times where she had found herself rescued by Toko’s quick thinking, and none of those times had required the help of her other, much less hospitable identity.

By the time they reached the exit of the hospital, Komaru felt much more comfortable with her Hacking Gun and partner at her side. She felt Toko’s eyes on her as she let out a relieved sigh.

“We’re finally out,” Komaru said as she looked around. Her green eyes filled with worry as she took in unfamiliar street. “But...where are we?”

“What?!” Toko raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? Don’t you _live_ in this city?” By her expectant look, Komaru could guess that Toko had been hoping for some sort of information.

“I, um...wouldn’t call it living,” the brunette replied in a somber voice. She glanced towards the taller buildings that looked similar to where she had escaped from two days ago. “I was just...i-imprisoned in an apartment the whole time,” she explained, anxiously fiddling with the black bracelet around her wrist.

“Imprisoned, huh?” Toko’s voice brought her gaze back to the older girl. “Th-that’s an interesting backstory...” She seemed lost in thought for a moment, her face unreadable behind those stormy eyes.

“But, how did you know I was living in this town?” Komaru asked, curious.

“Huh?” Toko blinked, looking up at her in surprise.

“And while I’m at it, this has been on my mind for awhile,” the high school girl admitted. “You said something when we first met. Toko...how did you know about me?”

She stepped back defensively. “D-don’t get all detective mode on me out of nowhere!” Toko stammered. She huffed in annoyance. “You’ve caught me off guard...”

Komaru tried to meet her eyes, seeing Toko start to tremble again. The sight didn’t sit well with her. The last thing Komaru wanted to do was scare her, especially after all Toko had done for her. But...if she knew anything about Komaru’s family, she _had_ to find out. “Well, I think I deserve to know...”

Toko’s hands played with her dark hair, and her usually sharp eyes looked distracted and muddled. “I-it’s not some big secret or anything,” she finally answered. “On the helicopter ride over, Master mentioned you and—”

“Helicopter?” Komaru’s eyes widened. “You mean Future Foundation’s? _You’re_ a member of Future Foundation?!”

“W-well, I’m more like an...intern,” Toko admitted, sounding almost ashamed for some reason. “That’s why I don’t have my own uniform yet.”

“Ohh,” Komaru nodded in understanding. “That’s why you aren’t in a suit...”

“S-such a cheap ass organization,” Toko scoffed bitterly. “They could’ve at least given me a uniform!” She pulled at the tattered black dress she was wearing, glaring at the fabric. “Ugh, when will I finally change out of this old, ratty thing?”

“You only have that one uniform, huh?” Komaru looked over the older girl, wincing at the state of the old school uniform. It was covered in tears and cuts, patches of the fabric were faded with age. Even the red ribbon hanging from Toko’s neck was shredded and most definitely worn out. The whole thing really did her a disservice. Toko was incredibly pretty, messy sure, but anyone who gave her more than a single glance could see right past that.

 _Toko would look stunning in a suit,_ Komaru suddenly found herself thinking. The image of a cleaned-up Toko in the Future Foundation uniform slipped into her thoughts for a brief moment before she quickly cleared it away.

“Yeah, but...I’ll endure it for a little bit longer,” Toko said. That familiar far off look entered her eyes, and sure enough—“I made a promise with Master. He said...if I can prove I can control her, I get to be an official member...” She started rocking on her feet and hugging herself.

Komaru shifted uncomfortably at the sounds Toko was making as she was lost in the memory she had with Byakuya. Whatever their relationship was, it seemed to run extremely deep and uh...passionate.

_That’s one word for it, sure._

She caught Toko mumbling something about livestock and pigs and it made her tense. Nope, no, it was none of her business. She shouldn’t be thinking about it. Toko’s life was her own. So what if she clearly thought poor of herself and some guy was out there getting off on it? So what if it was really, _really_ weird and shady that he had her calling him ‘Master’ like she was nothing more to him than some kind of sex slave?

Komaru felt sick the longer she thought about it, and she made a mental note to kick Byakuya in the shin if she ever saw him again.

Toko let out a sound that was a cross between a sigh and an ‘oink’, finally snapping out of her trance to find a mortified Komaru staring at her. Toko’s face reddened in humiliation and Komaru saw her bristle in defense like a cat.

“Wh-what’s with that face,” she hissed, voice thick with embarrassment. “It’s like you’re looking at...a pig!”

Komaru winced. _You had to say it, didn’t you?_

“D-did I look that weird?” Toko seemed to shrink, hunched over and biting into her fingernail. Her eyes burned holes into the cement at their feet.

“N-no, not at all!” Komaru said quickly. “You didn’t look disgustingly gross at all!” _I **definitely** am not worried about you or your really twisted boyfriend!_

“I didn’t ask you if it was gross, I just said ‘weird’!” Toko snapped.

Komaru paled at her slip-up. “O-oh, sorry!”

_Great, now she thinks she’s gross. We really need to work on our people skills. I know it’s been a while but sheesh, Mom would kill me if she saw this conversation._

Toko groaned, scratching at her scalp in frustration. “Jeez, even this immature schoolgirl treats me like an intern! Even that occult moron and the swimming idiot bimbo are official members!”

“Wow, you sure give your friends nice nicknames,” Komaru winced.

Something in Toko’s eyes changed. “They’re _not_ my friends!” Her words were backed by a fire Komaru had never seen before in the older girl. “My whole life I’ve never had a friend!”

Komaru blinked at her in shock, mouth open but not sure what to say. Toko’s fury-filled gaze glazed over with tears, and her anger quickly shifted to pain.

“...and n-now you go making me remember stuff like that! Stop prodding my mental wounds, girl!” She shouted before turning away, grabbing at her shaky wrist.

Guilt instantly twisted Komaru’s insides at the sound of Toko’s strained voice. “I didn’t mean to!” She hurried around to face her. “I’m sorry, Toko I haven’t been around anyone in a _such_ a long time. And I mean like, a really really long time,” Komaru admitted sadly. “I hadn’t talked to another person in a year and a half before two days ago and none of those conversations were more than a few minutes. So....my people skills are a bit rusty.”

She tried to reach out towards Toko’s hand, only getting a distrusting flinch in response. Toko scowled at the ground. “D-don’t do that, you sound pathetic trying to make me feel better. I don’t n-need your apology. Just say what you really mean.” She started biting into the nail of her thumb. “Besides, who cares about having friends? I h-have Master Byakuya!” Komaru tried to ignore the sting in her words as she continued. “And as long as I have Master, I don’t need anything, or _anyone_ else...”

Komaru got the message. She pulled back, shifting away from Toko to look up at the dark clouds above them. “To actually care about someone that much...that’s a pretty amazing feeling.”

_Must be nice to wake up knowing you’re not alone. Can’t imagine what that would feel like..._

“I got separated from my precious Master thanks to these damn riots!” Toko practically hissed. She suddenly hugged herself and started trembling, staring down the streets in the distance. “Now I’m all alone, and it’s been like this for days!”

Komaru frowned. “Wait, so ever since then you’ve been on your own? Then who told you Byakuya was captured?”

Toko’s eyes seemed to widen a bit. “O-oh, well, a lot of things happened...a-and more importantly! What are you going to do from here on?”

“Me?” Komaru could tell she was steering the conversation away again. She didn’t question it. With how Toko was acting, the memory was probably painful and Komaru knew better than to pry too hard. “Well, I guess there’s no choice but to escape. I’ll be killed if I stay in this town, right?”

Toko was silent, thoughts rushing behind her gray eyes. Komaru felt her gut sink.

“But you...want to look for Byakuya.” She shouldn’t let it affect her, Komaru knew it was childish to not want them to go their separate ways. They barely knew much about each other, heck Toko had _just_ said she didn’t need anyone.

_Am I really **that** terrified of being alone again?_

“I know that’s what you want, but...” The words start spilling out of Komaru before she realizes what’s happening. “ But I’m just so scared...I can’t help it, I...I feel so afraid...” Komaru could hear her heart thudding loudly, a cold panic starting to take hold of her chest. It squeezed at her lungs and made her tremble, her mind flooded with images of the empty apartment she had escaped from, the dozens of people she had seen slaughtered since she stepped outside. The fear and despair started to drown her the longer she thought about it, and though she was fully aware of the fact that she was outside, she suddenly felt like she was surrounded by walls...walls that wanted to crush her. “I feel _trapped_. No matter what I do, I’ll end up getting killed...”

“K-Komaru..!” Toko’s alarmed voice brought her back to reality. The older girl was staring at her, eyes wide with concern. Komaru quickly realized that she was breathing aloud hard, her blood roaring in her ears as every muscle in her shook. When she couldn’t make herself to stop, the panic worsened, and Komaru stumbled back clutching at her chest as she stopped breathing altogether.

_**Trapped. Alone. Trapped. Alone. Trapp—** _

The downspiral of thoughts was interrupted when Toko spoke up again. “Komaru, hey i-it’s okay. You’re okay.” The high school girl blinked up in surprise to see Toko crouched down in front of her. Komaru realized she was seated on the concrete, but didn’t remember falling back.

Toko waved a hand gently in front of her. “Hey, look at me,” she said in a stern voice. Her gaze softened the moment Komaru’s met hers. “W-whatever you’re thinking about, isn’t happening right now. You’re okay,” she said again. Komaru found herself nodding. “Take a breath, s-slow down.” Toko’s hand found her knee and Komaru felt the tension uncoil from her chest. Toko kept guiding her, taking deep breaths alongside Komaru until she was finally breathing normal.

“Much better,” Toko sighed in relief. “Y-you okay? That was a pretty intense panic attack...”

Komaru wanted to curl up into a ball of embarrassment, her face red with shame. “Y-yeah. Thank you for...that.”

Toko watched her for a moment before standing. “It’s fine. Like I said before, can’t have y-you dying or anything on me.”

“Right,” Komaru said in response. She got her feet, muscles still wobbling a bit as she dusted herself off. “So...listen, I know this is...an unfair request, but—”

“Fine,” the older girl sighed. She crossed her arms and shook her head, looking defeated.

“Huh?”

“You want me to tag along with you, right?” Toko asked without meeting her gaze. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

Komaru felt her chest tightening again, though this time from a much more pleasant emotion. “I-it’s okay?”

Toko’s gray eyes looked back at her, full of worry. Her expression almost looked pained before she seemed to come to a decision. The Ultimate Writing Prodigy straightened up a bit and her arms fell to her sides. Komaru was quickly reminded Toko was actually taller than her, despite how small she tended to make herself.

“Th-there’s no other choice!” Toko’s usual stutter did not manage dampen her serious tone. “As a member of Future Foundation, it’s my duty to protect you.”

Something inside Komaru shattered instantly, and she broke down into tears. With a choked sob, she leapt forward. Komaru hugged her arms around Toko, burying her face into the startled girl’s shoulder. “Thank you so much, Toko!”

Komaru could feel every muscle in Toko tense up in panic. “H-hey!” It lasted for a brief moment and then she seemed to relax into Komaru’s embrace, despite keeping her hands away. “What are you doing?!”

 _“ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!!”_ Komaru’s grip held tighter, clutching at Toko’s black uniform. She kept rambling, nuzzling against her traveling companion in an attempt to stifle her relieved tears. “From the bottom of my heart, just...thank god I met Toko!”

If Komaru had it her way, she’d stay like that for hours, crying and hugging Toko until she couldn’t breathe. After a year and a half, it felt _so_ good to hold someone. To feel another person’s warmth and feel safe. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been that close to someone.

 _Gunpowder and honey,_ Komaru thought to herself before Toko finally shoved her back. _Toko Fukawa smells like gunpowder and honey..._

The black-haired girl was red from head to toe in that moment, despite her bitter scowl. “‘God’? J-just thank me directly,” she huffed, trying to hide how flustered she sounded and failing miserably.

Komaru hid her smile as she started wiping away the tears on her face. _Of course there’d be something sweet hidden under all that bitter..._

“Are you sure about this? What about your search for Byakuya?” She tried to ignore the sour tase in her mouth at the sentence.

“Th-there’s no need for you to worry about that,” Toko replied with a shake of her head. “I’ve been thinking up a plan.”

This time Komaru didn’t hide her smile. “You’re right. An amazing girl like you would have a plan for sure. No point in me worrying.”

Toko blinked back at her in surprise, her eyes flicking back and forth nervously behind her glasses. “I-I..um...r-right, yeah.”

Komaru moved a strand of loose hair behind her own ear, her green gaze drifting in thought. “But...I’m glad. Ever since I was—” She choked on the word for a moment, and Toko looked up at her in concern. “...i-imprisoned,” Komaru finally forced out, “I’ve been all alone. I couldn’t depend on anyone else.” She tearfully met Toko’s eyes and smiled at her once more. “So I’m really happy you’re with me! So, _so_ happy!”

“Y-you don’t have to repeat yourself, I heard you the first time.” Toko looked red as a beet, no longer able to hold Komaru’s soft gaze. She started chewing her thumb, a habit Komaru was quickly learning meant she was getting overwhelmed. “Now, do you know a way out? I don’t know anything about this city either. I don’t know where we should go...”

“You’re right,” Komaru said in agreement. “We have to figure out more about this town, first.” She tried to think back to the brief encounter she had with the Future Foundation members that she had tried to escape with. “I heard this town was on an island, which means...Toko, do you remember seeing a bridge anywhere?”

“A bridge?” Toko’s nose scrunched up behind her glasses, another habit Komaru had come to notice, though this one much cuter than the last. “I-if I remember correctly...I saw a huge bridge over that way.” She pointed down the street leading out of the clustered buildings.

“Perfect! If this town is really an island, we should be able to escape over the bridge,” Komaru said with an encouraging smile.

“Huh...I guess you’re right,” Toko replied. Komaru caught the small smile forming on her lips when Toko looked looked back to her.

“Let’s go to the bridge,” the brunette said before starting down the street. “We have to at least try!” Komaru let out a laugh as Toko trailed close behind. “What a relief, I was starting to lose hope!”

“I-I see...” Komaru looked back to see Toko anxiously chewing on her thumb again, gray eyes on the cracked asphalt below. “Good for you...”

Komaru slowed a bit until she was at the older girl’s side. “Hey don’t you go losing hope on me either,” she teased with a playful bump to Toko’s shoulder. “As your designated travel buddy, it’s my duty to protect you too!”

Toko looked startled at her words. “‘T-travel buddy’?”

“Yep! Though I don’t know how good I’ll be at it,” Komaru admitted with a slight embarrassed laugh. “Y-you’re clearly the one with more experience here, I’m probably gonna need your help more than you’ll need mine.”

Toko fiddled with her glasses, her head lowering a bit in response to the flattery. “If anyone overheard you talking like that, t-they’d think you were talking about something lewd.”

Komaru practically leapt back from her. “Wh—?! Why would you say that?!” She spluttered out, her face burning and brow furrowed at Toko. “Jeez, what if someone heard _you?”_

“There’s no one alive here for miles,” Toko said with a roll of her eyes. “Besides, why do you care? S-scared someone might see you with an ugly hag like me?”

She got a cold glare in response. “Cut it out,” Komaru said sharply. She stomped ahead, unclipping the large megaphone from her hip. “And by the way, I don’t think you’re an ugly hag,” she called over her shoulder. “So you can stop saying that.”

Toko was quiet after that. They made their way down the street mostly in silence, dodging Monokumas and blasting their way through the Towa smartcars. Sometimes the other way around. It thankfully didn’t take too long to reach the harbor, and the distant outline of the bridge to the mainland was a welcome sight.

The bodies of countless slaughtered adults were impossible to avoid. The streets were littered with them, and the air reeked of death. There was so much blood. Toko had mentioned that there was a time she had been terrified of blood, and after being exposed to so much of it the last couple of days, Komaru could completely understand why.

It never got any easier, especially with the horrific state the bodies were in. Mangled, piled into masses, nailed up against a wall...

The worst was watching the Monokuma Children _playing_ with the corpses. Young boys and girls posing the lifeless adults like rag dolls, chasing each other with body parts, none of them affected by how twisted their actions were. Every time the sight would freeze Komaru in her tracks, and every time Toko would have to assure her that it wouldn’t be the last.

The two girls clambered their way through the wreckage, Toko anxiously watching the sun as it moved through the sky. She was worried about the time, Komaru realized. Was it nightfall she was scared of?

“We need to keep moving. W-we can’t be out here in the dark,” Toko said before Komaru helped her scramble to the top of a shipment container.

“Why? Do the Monokuma get stronger at night or something?” The brunette glanced at the robot bears strapped with a tin full of bombs to their backs. They hissed back at the girls before throwing several live grenades in their direction.

“What? No, don’t be stupid.” Toko ducked behind Komaru as she blasted two shots from her Hacking Gun at them. One of the bears fell back and the bomb container burst on impact, the surrounding Monokumas exploding as well from the force. “I just don’t want to not be able to see any of these stupid robots or kids,” Toko said. “It’s bad enough _seeing_ them all the time, but if they were able to sneak up on us...I d-don’t want to think about it.”

Komaru winced. “Yeah okay, that does sound terrifying.” She hopped along from one container to the next, holding out her hand to help the older girl. Toko’s trembled above it for a moment before finally taking her extended hand. Komaru guided her over, keeping the two of them balanced on the edge. Toko’s hand was calloused but warm, and despite the tight grip, Komaru could tell she was being very gentle.

The second she let go, Toko rubbed at her hand. Her thumb massaged at her palm like she was trying to rub off dirt. “You...okay?” Komaru asked carefully.

“Y-yeah, just...not used to all this touching,” Toko said with a grimace.

“Oh, sorry!” Komaru stepped back from her. “I’m a huggy, touchy-feely person,” she explained in embarrassment. “I forget a lot of people don’t like that...”

“It’s not that I don’t like it,” Toko said before brushing a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear. “I’m just...surprised you’re okay with it.”

Komaru’s head tilted to the side. “Me? Why would I not be?”

Toko scoffed, walking past her onto the scaffolding that descended to the street below. “Isn’t it obvious? Look at you, you’re the p-perfect picture of a perfect high school girl.” Her gray eyes looked down at her wrists, and Komaru could just barely make out some scarring that poked out from under the black fabric. “I’m the poster child for a deranged basket case. Someone like you shouldn’t even be l-looking in my direction, let alone grabbing my disgusting hands.”

The younger girl frowned. _“Hey!”_ She marched right up to Toko and flicked the bridge of her glasses with a finger. The way Toko flinched back, Komaru might as well have smacked her.

“Wh-wh-what was that for?!”

“First off, I’m not perfect,” Komaru retorted. She placed her hands on her hips as she continued to scold Toko. “If you’re a basket case, then I’m the whole storage bin.”

“The _what?_ Who says that?”

“That’s not important! Second; Toko, you’re **_not_** disgusting,” she said seriously. “Sure, you’re rough around the edges and a bit of a cynic, but you’re not ugly or gross or any of that other stuff you keep saying. Whoever told you that was just being a giant jerk, and they’re wrong.”

Toko stared at Komaru in disbelief, her gray eyes wide and confused. “Y-you...I...” She shook her head. “I-I don’t understand you at all. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before.”

Komaru grinned. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She turned around to face a large building on their path. Surrounded by towering stacks of shipping containers and other impassable debris, there was only one option for where they could go. “Based on where we are, the bridge should be on the opposite side of this hotel. It looks like we could get through right here,” she said before approaching the building’s entrance.

“A-are you telling me we have to walk through this busted-up hotel?” Toko groaned. “This is the worst...”

“Oh relax,” Komaru said as she pushed the door open. “I’m sure its not...” Her words trailed off as they both entered, seeing main hall entirely collapsed in on itself, their exit blocked completely. “...that bad.”

Toko glared at the younger girl from behind her glasses. “Shitty hotels are _always_ huge danger zones. Have you never seen a movie or read any kind of crime novel?”

Komaru slumped over with a sigh. “Yeah, okay fair enough.” She looked over their surroundings for a moment, taking in the grand entrance and reception area that was now covered in wreckage and debris from parts of the ceiling collapsing in on itself. “This place does look pretty fancy though.”

“It’s all show,” Toko said as if it was obvious. “Never trust any place that puts all their money into tacky showpieces at the front entrance. If the first thing you see is the most expensive, then there’s nothing waiting for you inside. I’m sure the actual rooms here are cheap-looking and way overpriced.” She crossed her arms before looking over the place as well. “It’s the same with people, books, or food. _Anything_ that puts all their effort into looks has no actual substance. That’s why I never put any artwork on my book covers. If my stories don’t speak for themselves, then I didn’t do my job as an author.”

Komaru’s green eyes widened in surprise at her companion. “‘Book covers’? Toko you’re a writer? That’s amazing!”

“I-I mean, I was...before, all this,” Toko replied with a huff. “My Ultimate Writing Prodigy talent isn’t going to do me a lot good anymore.”

The younger girl’s eyes widened even further. “Whoa wait, you’re an **_Ultimate_** writer?! Does that mean you went to Hope’s Peak? My brother went there too! Not for any talent though,” she added quickly. “He just got super lucky.”

Toko was silent. She moved towards the ledge of a busted up stairway and tried to reach for it. “L-let’s keep moving. I’m sure there’s some other way out of this place.”

“Right! Sorry, got super distracted there for a sec.” Komaru hurried to her side, hopping up to reach for the ledge as well. Neither of them were successful. “Give me a boost?” Komaru asked with an apologetic smile.

Toko sighed. “Y-yeah, fine. Just hurry.”

It was awkward and shaky, mostly on Komaru’s end. Toko was by far the strongest of the two, though that was hardly surprising considering what Komaru saw the other Toko do. Genocide Jack was leaping and tossing Monokumas around like an Ultimate gymnast. She could tear through a steel robot like was tin foil, of course lifting an average sized teenager would be no problem. Komaru on the other hand, was no athlete. Pulling Toko up onto the ledge was no easy feat, but with a lot of brute force and stubborn willpower, she was able to pull it off.

“Hopefully that’ll get easier next time,” Komaru panted, unclipping her Hacking Gun and turning to the stairs.

“Hopefully there won’t _be_ a next time,” Toko grumbled, rubbing at her strained hip. “I’m not spending the rest of my life climbing around this city like a damn monkey.” Komaru giggled in response. “What?”

“Nothing,” she chuckled lightly. “You just sound a bit like my grandpa.”

Toko scowled at her before the two entered the next hall. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Hey, I was best friends with my grandpa,” Komaru said. “He was a total sweetheart, just a bit grouchy too...” She suddenly caught sight of a couple of pay-phones nailed into the side of the wall.

Toko glanced at them as Komaru paused. “Wh-what?”

“I think I’ve got an idea!” Her eyes practically sparkled as she turned to face Toko. “Look, if we use this telephone to call the police, won’t they come save us?”

“The _police?”_ Komaru winced at the bitterness in Toko’s voice that instantly extinguished any hope that her idea was going to be successful. “That collective of psychos that think all humans are criminals until proven innocent?!” The fire in Toko’s gray eyes burned with hatred at a level of disgust Komaru hadn’t seen before. Worse than her mention of the word ‘friend’.

“T-that’s...” Komaru didn’t even know what to say.

“It’s a shitty idea,” the Ultimate Writing Prodigy snapped. She crossed her arms and glared holes into the red carpet of the hotel. “There’s no way it’d go through. Telephones, internet, nothing.”

“Huh?!” Komaru stared at the pay-phones in disbelief. “Nothing works?”

“If they did, t-this whole problem would be solved by now. ‘Cause the police _always_ magically fix everything, right?” Toko scoffed. “Jeez, use your brain. You’re seriously useless, more useless than...than a salmon that already laid its eggs!”

“Okay okay, you don’t have to be so mean about it,” Komaru sighed. She glanced over at Toko as they continued down the hall. The older girl was still incredibly on edge, gritting her teeth and scowling to herself. “So...what’s with you and the police?”

“W-what, are you really that surprised? I’m sharing a body with a killer that I can’t control and you think I’d trust a **_cop_** to help me?” Toko hissed, bristling further. “T-they’re nothing but a bunch of trigger-happy pigs on a power trip! They don’t give two shits about protecting anyone!”

Komaru’s gaze softened in concern. “Toko—”

“When you’re in trouble, and I mean in r-real trouble, _no one_ is going to save you. The world isn’t some romantic fantasy where heroes exist and people go out of their way to help others,” Toko said through narrowed eyes. _“You_ have to get strong enough to protect yourself and the ones you care about. If you haven’t figured that out yet, you’re going to die. **_That’s_** the reality we live in. A reality where kids murder adults, adults torture kids, and the police d-don’t believe a word you say when your own teacher corners behind the school and—”

A distorted cackle suddenly echoed through the hall and the two whirled around to see three Monokumas sprinting towards them. Distracted by Toko’s words and taken by surprise, Komaru’s shots from her Hacking Gun missed their targets and the bears sneered at the despair on the girl’s faces.

One bear lunged at Komaru, claws slashing through the air as she ducked out of the way. The second found itself zapped by Toko’s stun gun, paralyzing it in place. The third however, managed to get passed them both. It leapt at Komaru with a haunting laugh, it’s weight tackling her to the ground easily. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of Komaru and she dropped the Hacking Gun with a harsh wheeze.

_“Komaru!”_

Toko had barely turned away from the paralyzed Monokuma when she heard Komaru hit the ground. Her eyes went wide with panic at the sight of her unarmed, now pinned under one of the bears. She pressed the stun gun to her temple as fast as she could, but the damn robot was faster.

Komaru fought against the Monokuma’s gnashing teeth trying to get at her face, holding the beast’s head back as best she could. It’s red eye was blinding, it’s distorted voice and churning gears were deafening. She heard Toko’s voice somewhere over it all and there was a distant flash, but everything went white when she felt the Monokuma’s claws rake across her upper right arm.

She was screaming. A second ago she couldn’t breathe and now she was screaming at the searing pain from the blades cutting through her skin like paper. She was screaming but still fighting back the mechanical predator trying to sink his teeth into her head.

And then it was gone. Torn away from finishing it’s prey before having its own head ripped clean off. The sparking machine dropped to the ground as its killer turned to finish off the rest of the Monokumas.

Komaru curled up on the floor, clutching at her arm and feeling her stomach turn at the blood pulsing from the three open wounds.

“Stupid, stupid girl!”

Komaru forced open her eyes to see her companion hovering over her. “T-Toko...”

 _No...not Toko_. The older girl’s red gaze was a dead giveaway of Toko’s other self. Without a word, she scooped Komaru up into her arms and bolted down the hall. The Ultimate Murderer kicked down the first door she came to, bringing them into a hotel room. She dropped Komaru on the bed rather carelessly and ripped the pillowcase off of the first pillow she could reach.

“Don’t move,” she hissed, tying the pillowcase around the wound. Komaru winced but nodded, and she watched Genocide Jack rush off. The girl scrambled through the room, opening and shutting drawers, throwing open every cabinet and door.

Komaru sat up to watch her. “W-what are you doing?” She croaked out, voice gone from all the initial screaming.

“What does it look like?” The girl snapped from the bathroom cabinet. She returned with a tiny first aid kit.

“You’re...helping me?” Komaru asked in surprise, watching her open the kit.

“Of course I am!” The Ultimate Murderer practically snarled. “Who else is? Miss ‘I’m so terrified of blood it makes me blackout’? Please,” she scoffed. She tore the pillowcase away to look over the three gashes. “This is gonna hurt, but you’ll still have your arm,” she said plainly. No words of encouragement, no pretty lies to make anyone feel better. Just facts.

For once, Komaru was glad for it.

She shut her eyes tight. “Thank you.”

The whole ordeal lasted an hour. Cleaning the wounds was one thing, but stitching them closed was another entirely. It was far less painful, but far more nerve wracking. Watching the known serial killer sitting on the edge of a bed threading a needle through her skin sent all kinds of panicked feelings through Komaru.

She winced as the needle started on the last gash, fisting at the bedsheets. Red eyes watched her movements.

“You’re a lot stronger than we give you credit for.”

Komaru met her sharp gaze for a moment. “No, I was stupid. Like you said. I just almost got us both killed.”

“I said ‘stronger’, not ‘smarter’. We don’t mix up our words,” the girl said with a frown.

“You really don’t like me, huh?”

“Am I not obvious enough, Dekomaru?” She watched Komaru’s gaze turn somber before speaking again. “You ask too many questions. It scares us.”

The brunette looked startled. “Huh?”

Genocide Jack continued stitching Komaru’s arm. “Fukawa. She’s been through a lot of really bad people, people who have hurt her.” Red eyes met green and her gaze turned deadly serious. “It’s my job to protect her. And **_everything_** about you reeks of danger.”

Komaru frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You and your soft hands, and your soft smile, and your soft words, and your damn soft smile...” The Ultimate Murderer grimaced. “It’s disgusting. You’re a _magnet_ for every sort of danger there is. Fukawa can’t think straight around you and that is going to get her hurt, again.”

“What..?”

“You really want to know _why_ we hate those donut-stuffed pigs you people call heroes so much?” Her tongue lolled out as a sharp cackle racked through the girl. “Then let me tell you a story...there once was a little girl who loved to read! Little Susie would go to the school library every day to meet with her favorite teacher, Mr. Sheep. Mr. Sheep would give Little Susie all kinds of books to read, even ones she wasn’t supposed to. Little Susie was a very smart girl, but even she couldn’t see through Mr. Sheep’s disguise.”

Komaru flinched, but for once she didn’t think it was from the needle. “‘Disguise’?”

Genocide Jack nodded. “Mhmm. Mr. Sheep was actually a Wolf; a vile, evil dog who liked to... _eat_ little girls.” Her red eyes narrowed to slits. “One day, Mr. Sheep ate Little Susie, but when her ghost tried to tell Officer Piggy, they wouldn’t listen. No one did. Everyone thought Little Susie was a liar, a freak. And they never let her forget it...”

Komaru stared at the girl in front of her, a mix of pain and horror contorting her expression. “W-what happened to—”

“Mr. Sheep? The Wolf kept eating little girls, moving from one school to the next,” the Ultimate Murderer said with a sad laugh. “Until of course, Little Susie grew up, and her big sister paid him a midnight visit,” she grinned. “Now Mr. Sheep has no teeth, and the Wolf sleeps at the bottom of a lake, nothing more than a pile of bones of and fish food.” She bit into the thread, tying off Komaru’s last stitch with a satisfied look in her eye.

“I...I meant Toko,” Komaru said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Genocide Jack retrieved her scissors, and Komaru swallowed hard at the sight of them. “You really are stupid. Didn’t you listen?” She snipped off the excess thread. “Little Susie is _fine_. She has me, and I’ll kill **_every_** last Wolf before they ever get the chance to hurt her again.” The scissors pointed at Komaru. “No matter what kind of sheepskin they wear.”

Komaru held her gaze. “I’m not like that. I won’t hurt you, either of you,” she added quickly.

The girl scoffed in response, sheathing her blades and turning back to the first aid kit. “That remains to be seen, Dekomaru.”

“I mean it,” Komaru insisted. She hit her fist against the bedsheets in emphasis, only to realize too late that it was her bad arm. She hissed in pain and bit her lip, scowling at the older girl’s cackle.

“Stubborn girl, why so eager to get in our head anyway, hmm?” She leaned in close to Komaru’s face, touching the tip of her nose with her own. “What’s in it for you? You got a thing for serial killers? For broken little girls with mommy issues?”

Komaru reeled back. “N-no! Nothing like that!” The Ultimate Murderer raised an eyebrow. “I...I just want to be Toko’s friend, that’s all.”

“Huh?” Genocide Jack pulled back, putting a hand on her hip and staring down at the younger girl. _“‘Friend’?”_ She burst into wild laughter. “‘Friend’?! HA! You have a better change of finding a fresh snowflake in hell! Stupid, stupid girl.”

“Why?” Komaru suddenly challenged, taking the killer by surprise. “Everyone deserves _someone_ , you know. Being alone...it, it does something to you.” Her gaze fell to the carpet, tears stinging in her eyes as flashes of her isolated apartment began to blind her again. “So overcome with despair, with nothing left to live for...no one should ever have to feel that alone.” She looked up to meet the red eyes watching her. “And if what you and Toko say is true, both of you have been alone for so much longer than I ever was. I can’t imagine the pain you two have felt.” Komaru wiped stray tears from her face. “You guys are both Ultimates, and I’m just a normal, stupid girl. But if we all work together, we can get out of here. I _know_ we can! We just have to trust each other.”

Genocide Jack stared at her long and hard. “Mmmmm, alright,” she said with a sigh. “Fukawa’s definitely got a soft spot for you, so it’s not like I could kill you even if I wanted to. Sooooo, guess that means I can go easy on you!” Komaru yelped as the point of her scissors was suddenly at her throat. “But let promise you this right now, girl,” she said in a cold snarl. “You betray us, and I’ll paint the walls with your insides.”

Komaru’s brow furrowed. “I won’t hurt Toko, I mean that.”

The older girl pulled back with a grin, spinning her scissors carelessly on her fingers. “Then I look forward to working with you, Dekomaru!” She chuckled before sheathing the blades once more. “‘Friend’! HA! Miss Morose here is going to have a _stroke_ if you keep that up!” She suddenly held up their stun gun, though Komaru couldn’t tell when she had taken it out. “I wish you luck on your magical friendship journey, stupid girl. Have fun trying to open up this stubborn nag!”

One pull of the trigger, a quick flash, and Toko was back.

“Komaru!” Gray eyes went wide as she registered the sight in front of her. The bed was covered in bloodied rags, and Komaru’s tattered right arm was in stitches that still needed to be dressed. Toko nearly turned green for a moment before abruptly shaking her head. “Your arm! W-what happened?”

Komaru watched her shove the stun gun in her pocket and turn to the first aid kit. “One of the Monokumas got me,” she replied with an apologetic smile. “Don’t worry though, it’s just a scratch.”

“‘Just a scratch’? Komaru do you _see_ how many stitches are on your arm?” Toko started unraveling a bandage. “That damn idiot had one job...”

“Toko, it’s not your fault,” Komaru insisted as the girl trembled over the stitches. She fought back a wince as Toko began wrapping her arm. “Or hers.”

“She was supposed to save you.”

“She did!” Komaru winced again as the bandage made its way around her arm once more. “She got us out of there a-and sewed my arm back up.”

Toko’s scowl did not let up. “You weren’t supposed to get hurt,” she said, finishing with the bandage.

“I was the one being stupid. That wasn’t on you.”

“Like **_hell_** it wasn’t!” Toko snapped. “It’s my job to look out for you and make sure you don’t get yourself killed!” She ran her hands through her black hair, digging her nails into her scalp. “If I hadn’t been so d-distracted earlier...I was too busy b-being pissed to hear them coming...y-you...you could’ve been...”

Komaru watched her in concern, seeing the girl start to close in on herself. “Toko, it’s okay.” She patted the bed with her left hand. Toko’s fearful gaze flicked between Komaru and the bed before finally letting out a sigh and sitting down next to her.

“I-I’m sorry,” Toko choked out, not daring to meet Komaru’s eyes. “I couldn’t even make it one day without you g-getting hurt. Y-you must hate me now.”

To her surprise, Komaru laughed. “How could I? You saved my life.” She leaned against Toko’s shoulder. “You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit too, you know.”

“Huh?” Toko blinked at her in response.

Komaru winced. “Oh right, the memory thing...”

“W-wait you mean...” Toko’s nose scrunched up. “You two talked? W-what did she say? Did she do anything stupid o-or hurt you? I swear I’ll—”

“No! No! She didn’t do anything like that, I promise.” Komaru’s gaze lowered. “But...she did tell me about your past with...the police.”

Toko raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”

“Just the whole thing about...wait there’s more?!”

She played with the fabric around her wrists. “N-not really. It’s mostly all the same thing. I kept stupidly going to them for help, no one would listen, it would blow up in my face.” Toko sighed. “It didn’t matter what I came to them with. Stuff at home or school...”

Komaru watched Toko talk, seeing the older girl practically shrink next to her as she continued.

“No one would help me. N-no one wanted to believe some ugly, worthless little girl could _ever_ be a killer. Or that she w-was getting beat up constantly by other kids. Or that her family was cruel. Or that her teacher was...” Komaru felt her go rigid and saw Toko’s gray eyes get swallowed up in fear. “...a m-monster.” She winced at an unseen memory. “They _all_ were monsters. I couldn’t trust anyone. M-most of the time I **_still_** can’t.”

Komaru fell silent, thinking back on Genocide Jack’s words.

_“‘Friend’?! HA! You have a better change of finding a fresh snowflake in hell!”_

That was a lot more understandable now.

“I don’t blame you,” Komaru sighed. “I don’t think I could trust anyone either after being betrayed like that.”

Toko looked over at her for a moment in response. Then her gaze turned pained again, and she started biting her thumb. “Komaru, I—”

“I’m sorry,” the high school girl burst out suddenly. “I was so stupid. I’ve just been saying stuff and I didn’t think at all about what I was doing to you!” Komaru buried her face into her hands. “You were right, I’m no different than anyone else. I didn’t listen to you, I just kept prying and it nearly got us both killed!” She let out a groan. “I’m an awful person. Pushing you, making you uncomfortable, forcing you to come with me just because I was scared to be alone again...it was selfish. All of this was so _selfish_.”

Toko stared at her in disbelief, watching Komaru struggle. Her green eyes finally looked up from her hands to meet Toko’s gaze.

“You don’t have to stay with me anymore,” Komaru said in a strained voice. Toko blinked in surprise. “After everything that’s happened, I can’t ask you to stick around and have to put yourself in danger for a stranger. For some _random_ girl who’s so desperate for company she’ll drag whoever she can down with her.” She fiddled with the black bracelet around her wrist. “You have people who care about you, who are out there right now and need your help. And I’m keeping you from that, from saving the person you **_love!_** I can’t do that to you. So, you don’t have to stay with me anymore. I’ll go to the bridge on my own, and you can go back to looking for your boyfriend.”

Toko simply shook her head. “No.”

“Huh?”

“Y-you’re wrong. I told you before, you’re different.” Toko took a breath before continuing. “It still scares me, yeah. But not in the same way.” Komaru saw her start to nervously rub her thumb across her palm again. “I-I’ve never had _anyone_ treat me as kindly as you. At least, not without wanting something or just giving up on me.” She let out a short laugh. “And all you want is just someone to have your back until you get out of here. So, I’m not leaving. Yeah, you’re stubborn and brainless and blindly optimistic at times...but you’re not a bad person for wanting to be selfish. N-not when it comes to things like this anyway.”

“But, what about Byakuya? A-and—”

“My Master is a lot smarter than you think. H-he’ll be fine,” she said. “I know he can handle himself for now. Besides, if he finds out that I ran into the girl who he tried to rescue and _didn’t_ do everything in my power to finish his mission, I think he’d be much more disappointed in me.”

“I...didn’t think of it like that.” Komaru fell silent.

“Also, y-you should know. Master Byakuya...isn’t m-my boyfriend,” Toko admitted sourly. She looked deflated as Komaru’s eyes went wide.

**_“WHAT?!”_ **

“T-that doesn’t mean I don’t still plan on marrying him! I just...h-have a ways to go still.”

Komaru frowned. “Then what’s with all those weird flashbacks you keep having?!”

“Flashbacks?” Toko’s eyes went wide. “Oh! T-those are just daydreams,” she explained quickly, her face turning red. “I-I get a little caught up in them sometimes when I think about him.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow incredulously. “A _little?”_

Toko started anxiously combing her hands through her black hair, hiding her face. “Don’t patronize me, I’m your senior remember?”

Komaru giggled, relieved at the tension between them finally starting lift. “Right, that reminds me...how old are you, Toko?”

The older girl’s jaws snapped shut. “Y-your tricks won’t work on me!”

“Tricks? What’re you—”

“You’re trying to show how young you are by comparing yourself to my age, aren’t you?” She scowled at Komaru with a strange smile. “Trying to add ‘old hag’ onto the usual insults of ugly and gloomy and smelly!”

“Th-that’s not true at all! I was just curious!”

“Doesn’t matter, I won’t tell you. A woman never reveals her age. It’s improper.”

“‘Improper’?” It finally dawned on her that the strange smile Toko was making meant that she wasn’t serious. She’s _teasing?_ Komaru felt herself smile at the small victory. “Your hiding it makes me want to know even more, Toko,” she shot back. “Makes me think that maybe you’re even _older_ than I imagined...”

The Ultimate Writing Prodigy crossed her arms, shooting Komaru a mischievous look. “Hmph, well there’s no way I’m more than five or six years older than you.”

“No way you’re younger than that either,” Komaru grinned.

Toko feigned insult. “Hey, I very well could be!”

“Well, only one way to know for sure...”

Komaru watched in amusement as Toko rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine,” she groaned. “As long as we never talk about it again.”

“Deal!”

“....I just turned eighteen in March,” Toko grumbled.

Komaru’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re lying.”

“W-what?! I’m not!”

“You’re only a few months older than me?!”

“Why is that so surprising?!”

“I...I just...” Komaru found herself looking over Toko in disbelief. “You’re _so_ much more mature than me...than anyone I know around our age.”

Toko straightened up a bit. “Well, they do say you age a lot after going through a traumatic event. After everything I’ve been through in the last couple years, I-I’m just shocked my hair isn’t totally white yet.”

Komaru laughed. Toko Fukawa was _indeed_ prickly, but not in the way Komaru first believed. She wasn’t sharp and dangerous like a handful of needles or a poisonous sea urchin. Toko was a hedgehog, bristly and scared, constantly trying to make herself seem bigger and scarier than she actually was. And Komaru was _finally_ starting to see Toko uncurl a bit from that defensive ball. 

“Well, I’ll try not to give you any gray hairs while we’re trying to get out of here,” she smiled.

The older girl stood up from the bed, dusting herself off. “Speaking of, we don’t have much daylight left. Let’s get to that bridge before the sun sets on us.”

“Right!” Komaru said with a nod as she stood.

Toko glanced at her bandages wearily. “J-just, be careful. Don’t do anything stupid or I’ll...I’ll...” She fumbled with her words trying to come up with a threat. “I don’t know but, it’ll be bad! A-and you’ll definitely regret it!”

Komaru watched her leave the room with a small smile. “I won’t let you down.” She grabbed her Hacking Gun that had been tossed to the floor earlier at some point. “I won’t let _either_ of you down,” Komaru said in a much softer volume, feeling more determined than she had in days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toko says ACAB...
> 
> Also Happy Tokomaru Tuesday! Have I mentioned how much I love these girls? I love these girls. They both need many, many hugs. See y’all next Tuesday!


End file.
